I heard a sentiment recently that, to turn a phrase, stuck in my craw. I guess it’s one of those ideas that you sort of take for granted, often hearing it tossed about in preachy statements or political speeches (neither of which are often very profound). The sentiment is that we should be “getting back to our roots.” Now I’ve been known to drop the odd aphorism, and no doubt you’ve heard it used and even used it before. I’m just wondering what the hell it really means? What are our “roots” and do we really want to get back to them? Moreover do we really need to get back to them, as it seems we are often told?

I guess I’m being a little purposely obtuse, because I know that people mean it to say that things were better when they were simpler…when our focus (as a nation, as a people, as a culture, as whatever group you’re addressing) was narrowed and purposed! When people lived simply and had simple wants, needs and desires! Of course, I know that’s what people mean. But is that really what we’re after? Think hard on that. Do you really want to take what humanity has wrought over the centuries and chop the tree off at the stem? What else is “getting back to our roots.” It’s conservative code for the status quo. Continue reading »