ISI author Bill Kauffman delivered a lecture at ISI’s F.M. Kirby Campus in Wilmington, Delaware on the topic of his new book, Look Homeward, America. Kauffman encourages Americans to rethink the idea of American regionalism by cultivating their own community to have a unique identity and to abandon the “sameness” that seems to accompany modern-day American cities and regions.
Who’s to blame for the “one big shopping mall” mentality where the same businesses, suburban sprawl, and homogenization of the culture continues to make the many diverse parts of our nation look the same? Maybe it’s big business, big media, or big government. But, ultimately it is up to the individual to affect change in their local community and to reidentify with the notion of “place”, to set their roots and their efforts in one community that they can truly call home by appreciating the uniqueness of place and enjoy the uniqueness of traveling to other regions and appreciating those communities for who they are.
Say goodbye to Starbuck’s and welfare. Say hello to Bill Kauffman. He’s in search of “reactionary radicals and front-porch anarchists.”