Hoffman, D P

English

Research Commons Kutztown University

Green RevolutionVolume 4 | Issue 9 Article 29-1-1966From a School of Living Speaker - Our ModernCities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will beNecessaryD P. HoffmanFollow this and additional works at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolutionThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Research Commons at Kutztown University. It has been accepted for inclusion in GreenRevolution by an authorized editor of Research Commons at Kutztown University. For more information, please contact czerny@kutztown.edu,.Recommended CitationHoffman, D P. (1966) "From a School of Living Speaker - Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will be Necessary,"Green Revolution: Vol. 4 : Iss. 9 , Article 2.Available at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolution/vol4/iss9/2THE GREEN FOR HOMESTEADERS, ON-TO-THE-LANDERS, AND DO-ff-YOURSELFERS Volume 4, Number 9 September, 1966 REVOLUTION SCHOOL OF U'I/NG, BROOKVILLE, OHIO 45309 PUBUSHED MONTHLY 25c per copy, $3 per year Two Summer Meetings Spark Further Activities in California From A School of Living Speaker-Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future A bevy of appreciated reports volunteered from California indi­cate that alert, responsible peo­ple attended the two · summer meetings there, and that plans were made for continuing asso­ciation. Forty people met on July 16-17 in San Francisco and half that number in Los Angeles on Aug. 6 and 7 .. of Living and Collaberg School. Sunday noon they picnicked in Golden Gate Park and con­tinued in session there for bene­fit of children's play, and heard Ephraim Gugel of Living Re­search Assn. (San .Jose) present the ideas of B. F. Skinner and Walden II. Discussion of the pro­posed School of Living Center in Maryland was followed by a freewill collection. Decentralization Will Be Necessary Meeting in the Friends Center, the Bay Area people began by "revealing themselves and their interests very deeply right off.," reports Pat Herron, who assisted with preparations. Included were intentional community, an edu­cation better than public schools, sharing closely with others, and achieving a more meaningful way of life. Good talk continued at lunch nearby. Later, with Paul Marks (Los Banos) as chairman, they heard Don Hoffman (Burlingame), au­thor of The Coming Culture, pre­dict a more rural culture (see main article on this page), Gerry and Carol Eisbach (San Carlos) on Bridge Mountain and Eden West communities, Bill Peavy (Merced) on organic gardening, and Pres. Leo Koch (Stony Point, , N. Y.) on the needs of the School To Florida and Back, Part V-One member reports: "We felt warmed and inspired by contacts with searching people, in shar­ing their ideas and expressing our own." Mr. Marks proposed a meeting in Fresno in a few months; a Round Robin is circu­lating among some of the attend­ants, and some have weekended since on a ranch of one of the members north of San Francisco. Pat Herron and Frances Crary (600 Stanyan St., San Francisco) were chosen co-chairmen of the Northern California School of Living. They write, "It was ex­citing to find such a strong inter­est in intentional community. How can we think out the de­tails of community? Are there books and articles? Our thinking (continued on page 4) By D. P. Hoffman [Daniel Hoffman, 48 Park, Burlington, Calif., is the author of The Coming Culture and other books about the Gandhian move­ment. This article is a summary of a talk given by him at a School of Living area meeting in San Francisco on .July 16.] America has the most central­ized culture in the world. The city in western history generally has exploited the surrounding country. T!J.e rural young people generally seek their fortune in the city, thus causing a steady' migration from the farm to the city. Today, in America, this mi­gration has disappeared, and for­eign immigration has practically ceased. The city has lost its regenerative force. Children are seldom wanted in the city, and because of the evolution of our Ou r Second Home led To A · urban culture, it appears that America will undoubtedly be losing population in a few years despite propaganda to the con­trary. With the disappearance of rural life and farm factories, our agriculture is based on de­structive materialistic methods, which affects the. fertility of Battle With City Hall Officials Heathcote Notes Aug. 14, 1966 As nature has finally smiled on us and brought some wel­t.l - come showers in the past 10 days, all the effort in keeping the hillside garden alive dur­ing the .Tune-July drought now seems to have been worth­while. A bucket brigade started during the .Tune community con­ference had to be continued by ones, twos or threes until Ken returned from his pipe organ rounds in .July. He then set up a pump to bring water up from the stream. The soaking of the parched earth gradually showed the benefits of cultivating and mulching. We hope to share lus­cious tomatoes, peppers, cucum­bers, squash, beets, etc., with those who attend the workshop-­about 10 days away as I write this. Present Owner-Built Eisman Home, Miami, Fla. An electric ,vire around the garden (50 x 200 ft., incidentally) finally proved to be essential (and effective!) in repelling small wildlife. This and the watering system made it possible for the Spragues-Hamiltons to take a breather - a trip to Florida to meet our recently acquired grandparents (who had been awaiting us since April). A happy occasion for all of us marred only by the death of our little dog, Pixie, whom some of you will remember. [Editor's Note. We continue here from last month Mr. Eis­man's account of his homestead building in Florida. Above is a view of his second home. The opposite side of this house con­sists of two large window areas, on either side of a charming stone fireplace. The large win­dow sections slide on barn-door tracks, to open on the garden­lawn area, including pool, that extends to Mrs. Eisman's moth­er's cottage, 100 feet away. This outdoor area is all screened, top and sides, on sturdy framing. From the back door one enters a beautifully equipped kitchen, passes along the eating bar, into the living room, to find oneself in a lovely planted area, under and around a winding, wrought iron stairway to a balcony and bedrooms. One may step down to the left and the bath; or pro­ceeds up three steps to a beauti­ful lavender-green room, light and airy. From the balcony rail­ing hang the family artist's strik­ing paintings. It is esthetically satisfying.-M.TL] By Sam Eisman Most people are satisfied to build one house during their life-time, but when I married 14 years ago the housing prob­lem again arose. Once more I rebelled at the idea of contract­ing a 20-30 year debt. I still can't understand how people can so lightly undertake such long term debts, but for most I suppose there is no alternative. With the experience of one house under my belt, I designed what I thought was a more so­phisticated house. At least from an esthetic viewpoint it is more pleasing than the first. Still, it is no better suited for the mod­ern homesteader. At the time I did not yet understand or ap­preciate the health benefits to be derived from home produced food, and did not plan adequately for this. This house, unlike the first, was built a room at a time. The kitchen was first, and when it was "wind- and winter-tight" as they say in the building trades, we moved in. The rent we saved was used to continue construc­tion. Build the Whole Shell To all prospective home build­ers, let me plead: finances per­mitting, build the complete shell (continued on page 3) Since we returned to the hol-low our time has been spent try­ing to get ahead of that two-week growth of weeds in the garden. Also the smell of paint, varnish, wet plaster and the whrrr of the saw here at the Old Mill indi­cates we're in harness again. An able and amiable assist, as of a few days ago, is being given by 18-year-old Dan Scott of Ro­chester, N. Y. He tore down the old wheelhouse almost single­handedly but for the heaviest timbers. The cleanup looks like one good workshop project. Our sights are now trained on that event as an opportunity to work together and for free and open discussion of all aspects of the Old Mill and School of Living. -Ken & Dee Sprague the soil and the health of the people. fac.t that life most likely is a mat­ter of soul travail, and an en­deavor to learn by trial and er­ror to use our free will for God or good, is not appreciated by the spiritual leaders of the West. It is present in great literature, such as Pilgrim's Progress, Di· vine Comedy, The Iliad, Para­dise Lost, etc., but this factor is seldom stressed in modern ed­ucation or life. Our great cities are dying in the center, and are filled with an ever increasing number of the mentally and physically ill. Urban living is conducive to an increase of crime and smog plus a host of other factors which actually change the ecology un­der which we live. The tax sit­uation is also frightening. It appears that our materialistic culture has unleashed the evils of Pandora's box. This sounds like a pessimistic picture but so did the successful campaign speeches of Congressman Lind­say when he ran for mayorship of the City of New York. The betrayal of the material­istic culture is becoming appar­ent to the rest of the world, and we are fast losing our moral leadership. This startling fact is the conclusion of the most famous social and philosophic thinkers of Western civilization, including Spengler, Sorokin, Toynbee, Schubart and Schweit­zer. These philosophers believe that our materialistic culture which has infected the church morally can not le:1d to the necessary peaceful society of to­morrow. This moral leadership ;,. expected to como :from th.a East. Early American Communities Historically, America had many social communities such as those advocated by The School of Living. These communities usually were cemented together by a religious belief. They were successful despite the subtle propaganda to make us think otherwise. The only reason many of these early communities ended (Oneida, Shakers, New Harmonists, etc.) was because their youth would not neces­sarily follow the religious od­dities of their parents in an ex­panding and exciting frontier economy. The temptation was too great to enter the material­istic American culture of the post Civil War era. The farmer who is truly in­dependent so far as food, cloth­ing and shelter are concerned has traits of character which many admire. Seldom is there exploitation in such an agri­cultural community. A spiritual approach to life is generally accepted. If the community is small enough there is true de­mocracy and the individual has a true identity, which is not built on public relations propaganda such as in a mass urban culture. The average man in America is beginning to look upon the poli­tician as an anti-social individ­ual, who does not truly repre­sent him. The politician also has to be an aggressive unsocial person, which ultimately affects him. Strong Motivation Needed It appears to me that the greatest problem in estab­lishing a rural planned com­munity wotild be a central or moral motivation. Few people in the Western world think in terms of a purpose in life. Peo­ple are skeptic:u of religion be­cause it has been exposed by modern methods of communi­cation. Reincarnation certainly results in a responsible approach to life. Although this idea is ac­cepted in the East, the West ig­nores or does not accept this doc­trine, nor does the West advocate any responsible substitute. The Concepts which resulted in a truly responsible approach to life ,vill never be accepted in the West without great suffering. Suffering opens the hearts of people. A desire for a more en­during brotherly economy can only come when the hearts of people are opened. Considering America's karma, suffering well could play a big part in our future. We have degraded na­tions to acquire their resources; been parties to violence and force while pretending to export freedom and democracy. Free­dom based on violence is based on fraud. Vietnam is the last of a long line of our violent ac­tions. Nations like individuals pay for their wrongful acts. A God of love does not smite na­tions, the people learn by suf­fering for their wrongful acts or ccllccH.vo errors:, s,o th"t trnth is ultimately appreciated. Catastrophe Foretold If our centralized culture is disrupted, a great catastrophe will probably be the cause. If the City of Topeka, which was recently hit by a tornado, does not immediately rebuild, many a skilled technician will be forced to leave the community, and the economy will suffer. This could happen on a large scale. Decentralization could be caused by man or nature. What­ever way it comes it will be catastrophic and will not be thought of as a blessing. A ca­tastrophe will have to take place to revolutionize the heart of the average American. Gan­dhi, Bhave and Narayan of India appear to be the moral leaders of Decentralization. Ralph Borsodi, who has given his life to this movement, has not affected the average Ameri· can. The majority of Americans are living in a temporary ma­terialistic paradise. It does not appear to be too long before suffering will result in an in­ward revolution in America which will also change social concepts and cause Decentraliza­tion. I suggest that people plan to live the life advocated by the School of Living, not only be­cause of the unknown future, but because of improving one's way of life. The decentralized culture is absolutely essential. Writer Corrected On Miseducation The Ohio Homestead Festival and education for living were featured in the Dayton Daily News of Sunday, .July 10, with some pictures of guests and ac­tivities at Lane's End Home­stead. A rather extensive, well­written item was titled "Green Revolutionaries Battle for Back to Nature Society." It carried the by-line of Doug Walker, a staff writer. Several School of Living mem­bers have appreciated a copy- of (continued on page 2) 

From a School of Living Speaker - Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will be Necessary

Green RevolutionVolume 4 | Issue 9 Article 269-1-1966From a School of Living Speaker - Our ModernCities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will beNecessaryD P. HoffmanFollow this and additional works at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolutionThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Research Commons at Kutztown University. It has been accepted for inclusion in GreenRevolution by an authorized editor of Research Commons at Kutztown University. For more information, please contact czerny@kutztown.edu,.Recommended CitationHoffman, D P. (1966) "From a School of Living Speaker - Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will be Necessary,"Green Revolution: Vol. 4 : Iss. 9 , Article 26.Available at: https://research.library.kutztown.edu/greenrevolution/vol4/iss9/26THE GREEN FOR HOMESTEADERS, ON-TO-THE-LANDERS, AND DO-ff-YOURSELFERS Volume 4, Number 9 September, 1966 REVOLUTION SCHOOL OF U'I/NG, BROOKVILLE, OHIO 45309 PUBUSHED MONTHLY 25c per copy, $3 per year Two Summer Meetings Spark Further Activities in California From A School of Living Speaker-Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future A bevy of appreciated reports volunteered from California indi­cate that alert, responsible peo­ple attended the two · summer meetings there, and that plans were made for continuing asso­ciation. Forty people met on July 16-17 in San Francisco and half that number in Los Angeles on Aug. 6 and 7 .. of Living and Collaberg School. Sunday noon they picnicked in Golden Gate Park and con­tinued in session there for bene­fit of children's play, and heard Ephraim Gugel of Living Re­search Assn. (San .Jose) present the ideas of B. F. Skinner and Walden II. Discussion of the pro­posed School of Living Center in Maryland was followed by a freewill collection. Decentralization Will Be Necessary Meeting in the Friends Center, the Bay Area people began by "revealing themselves and their interests very deeply right off.," reports Pat Herron, who assisted with preparations. Included were intentional community, an edu­cation better than public schools, sharing closely with others, and achieving a more meaningful way of life. Good talk continued at lunch nearby. Later, with Paul Marks (Los Banos) as chairman, they heard Don Hoffman (Burlingame), au­thor of The Coming Culture, pre­dict a more rural culture (see main article on this page), Gerry and Carol Eisbach (San Carlos) on Bridge Mountain and Eden West communities, Bill Peavy (Merced) on organic gardening, and Pres. Leo Koch (Stony Point, , N. Y.) on the needs of the School To Florida and Back, Part V-One member reports: "We felt warmed and inspired by contacts with searching people, in shar­ing their ideas and expressing our own." Mr. Marks proposed a meeting in Fresno in a few months; a Round Robin is circu­lating among some of the attend­ants, and some have weekended since on a ranch of one of the members north of San Francisco. Pat Herron and Frances Crary (600 Stanyan St., San Francisco) were chosen co-chairmen of the Northern California School of Living. They write, "It was ex­citing to find such a strong inter­est in intentional community. How can we think out the de­tails of community? Are there books and articles? Our thinking (continued on page 4) By D. P. Hoffman [Daniel Hoffman, 48 Park, Burlington, Calif., is the author of The Coming Culture and other books about the Gandhian move­ment. This article is a summary of a talk given by him at a School of Living area meeting in San Francisco on .July 16.] America has the most central­ized culture in the world. The city in western history generally has exploited the surrounding country. T!J.e rural young people generally seek their fortune in the city, thus causing a steady' migration from the farm to the city. Today, in America, this mi­gration has disappeared, and for­eign immigration has practically ceased. The city has lost its regenerative force. Children are seldom wanted in the city, and because of the evolution of our Ou r Second Home led To A · urban culture, it appears that America will undoubtedly be losing population in a few years despite propaganda to the con­trary. With the disappearance of rural life and farm factories, our agriculture is based on de­structive materialistic methods, which affects the. fertility of Battle With City Hall Officials Heathcote Notes Aug. 14, 1966 As nature has finally smiled on us and brought some wel­t.l - come showers in the past 10 days, all the effort in keeping the hillside garden alive dur­ing the .Tune-July drought now seems to have been worth­while. A bucket brigade started during the .Tune community con­ference had to be continued by ones, twos or threes until Ken returned from his pipe organ rounds in .July. He then set up a pump to bring water up from the stream. The soaking of the parched earth gradually showed the benefits of cultivating and mulching. We hope to share lus­cious tomatoes, peppers, cucum­bers, squash, beets, etc., with those who attend the workshop-­about 10 days away as I write this. Present Owner-Built Eisman Home, Miami, Fla. An electric ,vire around the garden (50 x 200 ft., incidentally) finally proved to be essential (and effective!) in repelling small wildlife. This and the watering system made it possible for the Spragues-Hamiltons to take a breather - a trip to Florida to meet our recently acquired grandparents (who had been awaiting us since April). A happy occasion for all of us marred only by the death of our little dog, Pixie, whom some of you will remember. [Editor's Note. We continue here from last month Mr. Eis­man's account of his homestead building in Florida. Above is a view of his second home. The opposite side of this house con­sists of two large window areas, on either side of a charming stone fireplace. The large win­dow sections slide on barn-door tracks, to open on the garden­lawn area, including pool, that extends to Mrs. Eisman's moth­er's cottage, 100 feet away. This outdoor area is all screened, top and sides, on sturdy framing. From the back door one enters a beautifully equipped kitchen, passes along the eating bar, into the living room, to find oneself in a lovely planted area, under and around a winding, wrought iron stairway to a balcony and bedrooms. One may step down to the left and the bath; or pro­ceeds up three steps to a beauti­ful lavender-green room, light and airy. From the balcony rail­ing hang the family artist's strik­ing paintings. It is esthetically satisfying.-M.TL] By Sam Eisman Most people are satisfied to build one house during their life-time, but when I married 14 years ago the housing prob­lem again arose. Once more I rebelled at the idea of contract­ing a 20-30 year debt. I still can't understand how people can so lightly undertake such long term debts, but for most I suppose there is no alternative. With the experience of one house under my belt, I designed what I thought was a more so­phisticated house. At least from an esthetic viewpoint it is more pleasing than the first. Still, it is no better suited for the mod­ern homesteader. At the time I did not yet understand or ap­preciate the health benefits to be derived from home produced food, and did not plan adequately for this. This house, unlike the first, was built a room at a time. The kitchen was first, and when it was "wind- and winter-tight" as they say in the building trades, we moved in. The rent we saved was used to continue construc­tion. Build the Whole Shell To all prospective home build­ers, let me plead: finances per­mitting, build the complete shell (continued on page 3) Since we returned to the hol-low our time has been spent try­ing to get ahead of that two-week growth of weeds in the garden. Also the smell of paint, varnish, wet plaster and the whrrr of the saw here at the Old Mill indi­cates we're in harness again. An able and amiable assist, as of a few days ago, is being given by 18-year-old Dan Scott of Ro­chester, N. Y. He tore down the old wheelhouse almost single­handedly but for the heaviest timbers. The cleanup looks like one good workshop project. Our sights are now trained on that event as an opportunity to work together and for free and open discussion of all aspects of the Old Mill and School of Living. -Ken & Dee Sprague the soil and the health of the people. fac.t that life most likely is a mat­ter of soul travail, and an en­deavor to learn by trial and er­ror to use our free will for God or good, is not appreciated by the spiritual leaders of the West. It is present in great literature, such as Pilgrim's Progress, Di· vine Comedy, The Iliad, Para­dise Lost, etc., but this factor is seldom stressed in modern ed­ucation or life. Our great cities are dying in the center, and are filled with an ever increasing number of the mentally and physically ill. Urban living is conducive to an increase of crime and smog plus a host of other factors which actually change the ecology un­der which we live. The tax sit­uation is also frightening. It appears that our materialistic culture has unleashed the evils of Pandora's box. This sounds like a pessimistic picture but so did the successful campaign speeches of Congressman Lind­say when he ran for mayorship of the City of New York. The betrayal of the material­istic culture is becoming appar­ent to the rest of the world, and we are fast losing our moral leadership. This startling fact is the conclusion of the most famous social and philosophic thinkers of Western civilization, including Spengler, Sorokin, Toynbee, Schubart and Schweit­zer. These philosophers believe that our materialistic culture which has infected the church morally can not le:1d to the necessary peaceful society of to­morrow. This moral leadership ;,. expected to como :from th.a East. Early American Communities Historically, America had many social communities such as those advocated by The School of Living. These communities usually were cemented together by a religious belief. They were successful despite the subtle propaganda to make us think otherwise. The only reason many of these early communities ended (Oneida, Shakers, New Harmonists, etc.) was because their youth would not neces­sarily follow the religious od­dities of their parents in an ex­panding and exciting frontier economy. The temptation was too great to enter the material­istic American culture of the post Civil War era. The farmer who is truly in­dependent so far as food, cloth­ing and shelter are concerned has traits of character which many admire. Seldom is there exploitation in such an agri­cultural community. A spiritual approach to life is generally accepted. If the community is small enough there is true de­mocracy and the individual has a true identity, which is not built on public relations propaganda such as in a mass urban culture. The average man in America is beginning to look upon the poli­tician as an anti-social individ­ual, who does not truly repre­sent him. The politician also has to be an aggressive unsocial person, which ultimately affects him. Strong Motivation Needed It appears to me that the greatest problem in estab­lishing a rural planned com­munity wotild be a central or moral motivation. Few people in the Western world think in terms of a purpose in life. Peo­ple are skeptic:u of religion be­cause it has been exposed by modern methods of communi­cation. Reincarnation certainly results in a responsible approach to life. Although this idea is ac­cepted in the East, the West ig­nores or does not accept this doc­trine, nor does the West advocate any responsible substitute. The Concepts which resulted in a truly responsible approach to life ,vill never be accepted in the West without great suffering. Suffering opens the hearts of people. A desire for a more en­during brotherly economy can only come when the hearts of people are opened. Considering America's karma, suffering well could play a big part in our future. We have degraded na­tions to acquire their resources; been parties to violence and force while pretending to export freedom and democracy. Free­dom based on violence is based on fraud. Vietnam is the last of a long line of our violent ac­tions. Nations like individuals pay for their wrongful acts. A God of love does not smite na­tions, the people learn by suf­fering for their wrongful acts or ccllccH.vo errors:, s,o th"t trnth is ultimately appreciated. Catastrophe Foretold If our centralized culture is disrupted, a great catastrophe will probably be the cause. If the City of Topeka, which was recently hit by a tornado, does not immediately rebuild, many a skilled technician will be forced to leave the community, and the economy will suffer. This could happen on a large scale. Decentralization could be caused by man or nature. What­ever way it comes it will be catastrophic and will not be thought of as a blessing. A ca­tastrophe will have to take place to revolutionize the heart of the average American. Gan­dhi, Bhave and Narayan of India appear to be the moral leaders of Decentralization. Ralph Borsodi, who has given his life to this movement, has not affected the average Ameri· can. The majority of Americans are living in a temporary ma­terialistic paradise. It does not appear to be too long before suffering will result in an in­ward revolution in America which will also change social concepts and cause Decentraliza­tion. I suggest that people plan to live the life advocated by the School of Living, not only be­cause of the unknown future, but because of improving one's way of life. The decentralized culture is absolutely essential. Writer Corrected On Miseducation The Ohio Homestead Festival and education for living were featured in the Dayton Daily News of Sunday, .July 10, with some pictures of guests and ac­tivities at Lane's End Home­stead. A rather extensive, well­written item was titled "Green Revolutionaries Battle for Back to Nature Society." It carried the by-line of Doug Walker, a staff writer. Several School of Living mem­bers have appreciated a copy- of (continued on page 2) 

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From a School of Living Speaker - Our Modern Cities Are Dying; Future Decentralization Will be Necessary

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