PICTURES OF THE WEEK
Are you flirting with me @shadow_traffic? Because it is working! I’m swooning over here!
Being Wild is Patriotic
Or, why creatively breaking rules is the only way new ideas get life.
I skim/read a lot of stuff every day and this article in the San Francisco Chronicle that caught my eye: "In wake of Wine Country fires, a burning desire to help goes up in smoke." My summary: after the recent fires in the North Bay, a group with portable shipping containers built into housing for Burning Man set those containers up for those displaced by the fire to live in. By all accounts, they did a great job, quickly. But the system didn’t know how to handle it. So they were never able to offer their help.
It was a shame, but both sides had good intentions: the rules are in place to keep people safe, in normal conditions. The people with the temporary housing were able to respond when conditions were no longer normal, and offer new solutions.
My trip to Minneapolis turned up another situation where civic good intentions and new opportunities rubbed up against each other, although a lot less tragic issue (thank goodness): It seems that, despite having a large Nordic influence, public saunas are really strictly regulated. Seems that historically they have been associated with “ill repute”, rather than the health and social benefits they have throughout much of the world. So, when Little Box Sauna (the sauna in the back of a trailer) shows up, they have to do a lot of work to get temporary permits to open.
And I’ve been known to do a thing or two in the name of art that pushes boundaries of “are we allowed to do that”? (And for my events, the answer is usually, “actually, yes”.)
But, I think these sorts of challenges are essential for us as a country. The United States has always been a place for risk takers, and just sitting back and blindly going with the status quo seems to not live up to those ideals. So, I think being wild is patriotic: it starts conversations about why certain boundaries are set up, what new ideas deserve a good airing, and what old ideas deserve to get retired. It gives rise to opportunities and prosperity. And maybe some hope and joy as well.
Look at how Apple started. Or Cisco. Or Nascar. Or Uber and Airbnb. (All problematic examples, I know.) They all started off breaking the rules, found an equilibrium, and then became institutions. But, if they didn’t break the rules, the creative ideas they started with and inspired others to follow would have never come to life.
So, the next time you have that wild idea that breaks the rules, maybe give it a minute, and think about the risk of doing it, and not doing it. Think about who you may be hurting or getting in trouble with, and who benefits. And then maybe choose to to do the right thing, which sometimes may mean breaking the rules. You may just find yourself leading a parade down a sidewalk, too.
Mostly I don’t eat sugar anymore, but I had an occasion to eat cake, so I had one of these from Craftsman and Wolves. I’m still not a fan of sugar, but I loved eating something so beautiful. Photo by someone else.
And, I am totally serious: I’ll mail you the newsletter if you want! Here is last weeks batch!
