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October 17th, 2012

10/17/2012

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Timothy Mallborn: The Invisible BoyTimothy Mallborn: The Invisible Boy by Matthew Lie-Paehlke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Who says the soul-sucking alienation of contemporary consumerism can't be fun? Those of us who live in a community that features a shopping mall at its cultural and social heart, will have no trouble identifying with Timothy Mallborn, the invisible hero of Matthew Lie-Paehlke's delightful story of a young boy who grows up in a mall - literally.

Timothy gets lost as a five year old lad, and finds meaning, art, and even love as he wanders from store to store over twenty-plus years. In his world you're invisible unless you're buying something. Who hasn't had that feeling on a busy Saturday during a holiday sale? Yet despite having been abandoned by his parents and living a lonely life surrounded by thousands of shoppers, young Timothy finds a way to connect with his own humanity and the spirits of the people all around him.

It's theatre of the absurd, funny and touching, and I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more from this imaginative writer.

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Author note - Civitas Island - The Birth of Hope

9/11/2012

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Picture
This is the second novel in my "Civitas Rising" series. It's been a joy peeling back the layers of drama and political intrigue that confront the Newman family and their friend Marco Prima. 

I've been both surprised and fascinated by the evolving political dynamics in the story. What started as a narrative about finding balance in our personal priorities has uncovered a fundamental truth - that if we hope to achieve an equilibrium in our personal lives, we need to ensure the cultural and political world in which we live isn't an upside-down mess.

Even after their escape from the mainland, Rachel Newman and Marco Prima find themselves caught up in the toxic messiness of Freedom First's America, a country that sacrifices community values at the altar of corporate libertarianism. The results are a roller-coaster ride where these young lovers have to come to terms with their own personal phantoms while desperately fending off an assault on their island refuge by global cartels intent on sinking Civitas once and for all.

I hope you enjoy the read. It's a wild ride.


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Healthcare Options

6/29/2012

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What do you call someone who is opposed to making healthcare available to everyone? A patriot? An idiot? I guess it depends.

In some of the poorest countries in Europe and elsewhere, people have to resort to selling their organs (yes - kidneys, even lungs) to pay for the basics they and their family need to survive. Macabre but true. See the article in today's NY Times at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48008837/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/?gt1=43001

At the same time, there are those in the United States, hardly one of the worlds hard luck economies, who feel it is offensive, perhaps even treasonous, to consider healthcare a basic service - like public education or a pension system for the elderly. These patriotic folks all have private healthcare insurance of some kind, so it isn't that they want to deny themselves. They want other people to be free of the burden of affordable healthcare. Perhaps this is some kind of punishment for not working hard enough, or getting bad grades in school, or being born into the wrong family, or just being unlucky. Whatever the crime, the penalty is severe. You are to go untreated when you're ill or injured, or have to declare bankruptcy to pay medical bills. Alternatively, you could just die.

The advanced economies of the world have all come up with working, affordable solutions for providing their populations with healthcare. All except the US. For us, it's a matter of principle, of political freedom - we will not succumb to affordable healthcare! We will fight it to our last breath.

Who thinks like that??
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The future of commerce can be found in the past

11/14/2011

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I grew up in Montreal and used to spend summers at a boys camp in upstate New York near Saranac Lake. So a story about that small town in this morning's paper caught my eye. Apparently, the only store selling clothing and other essentials closed down recently, part of a national chain downsizing, and the community decided to take matters into its own hands. They pooled resources and opened The Community Store.

I like this story for several reasons. First, it shows people finding creative solutions to a problem. Second, it demonstrates the power and centrality of community in commerce. Finally, it gets us back to business at a human scale.

Faced with a challenge - nowhere to buy underwear without driving 50 miles - the good citizens of Saranac Lake invested in themselves. They didn't wait for an outside megastore to come in and save them. In fact, when Wal-Mart explored the idea of moving into the area, they were rebuffed. People chose a creative, entrepreneurial track, taking their destinies into their own hands.

Global corporations have deep pockets to promote their "brand", they can hire local people and provide support for community events, but they are never really "of the community". They are visitors, investors who hope to benefit from their local affiliation. A community resource puts community before profits. It is there to serve the community rather than seeing community service as good PR in the service of maximizing profits. Profits will follow for an organization that provides a needed service, but maximizing profit at the expense of a community doesn’t make a business “better”, just richer. With principled, skilled leadership, the new Community Store could be a model for other communities around the country.

I'm not suggesting that all business has to be small and local. I am saying that a small business that provides a needed service and grows from within the community knows that serving the community is essential to its survival. Such enterprises are more likely to be responsive, responsible and resilient.  It's how early capitalism looked, before the evolution of massive, global enterprises. It's finding a positive path to profits without negative exploitation. Perhaps the future of business can be found in its past. Nothing wrong with that! http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2016756087_saranac14.html

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    Author

    Have you read any of the Civitas Rising series? Please share your thoughts about the Great Change, the impact of technology on our lives, healthcare, the role of government, and anything else the books got you thinking about.

    Thanks!

    Robert.

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