Identity and Place III

"We considered and rejected the possibility of living abroad as refugees from what was for us a revolting and increasingly intolerable social situation... In a very real sense, the world lay open before us. Where should we go in search of the good life? We were not seeking to escape. Quite the contrary, we wanted to find a way in which we could put more into life and get more our of it. We were not shirking obligations but looking for an opportunity to take on more worthwhile responsibilities. The chance to help, improve and rebuild was more than an opportunity. As citizens, we regarded it as an assignment. Therefore, we decided not to migrate."

This quote is from the first chapter in Helen and Scott Nearing's book, The Good Life, which documents the couple's sixty years of self-sufficient living in rural Vermont and Maine. I think the quote adequately captures the theme of Identity and Place: faced with the temptation to pack and leave for a place that might be more conducive to the kind of life they wanted, they decided to stay and create their own way of living.

I am also intrigued by the Nearings's way of self-identifying as Americans. In the midst of the Great Depression and two world wars, they were gradually ostracized from society for their pacifism as well as their skepticism toward the capitalistic war economy, and yet their patriotism rested in their commitment as citizens to "help, improve and rebuild" an American way of living. This resonates strongly with me. One of the best lessons I learned in college came from a professor who explained that the reason she remains a Southern Baptist is because she believes that lasting change to an institution must come from within it, by people who are committed to it and love it.

Perhaps the Nearings answered their own question -- "Where should we go in search of the good life?" -- by realizing that their quest had less to do with changing their location and more to do with changing their lives.