The birthplace of the American experiment was on the rocky coast of New England. It is a place of mercurial weather, merciless gales, treacherous rock ledges, pea-soup fogs, and snug harbor communities.
Many of the people who gave us our durable democratic form of government and a spirit of innovative enterprise were fishermen and mariners. Remnants of this traditional self-reliant and self-confident seafaring Yankee culture are still found in Maine.
This post is inspired by my decade-long connection to the Pine Tree state. The following items are intended to remind Americans that we have a long history of building durable and beautifully designed structures that manifest genuine integrity and creativity.
In many the ways, the profligate waste, shortsightedness, and national incompetence of the last 20 years is an historical anomaly. We can choose to revisit time-tested traditional and progressive American mindsets and verities in new ways.
It is there that we will find the will and ways to innovate and grow our still great nation out of its current trajectory of political malaise and economic decline.
The first item for viewing is Musings on a Maine Peapod. It is an intergenerational American dialogue about what matters. There is also a relevant blog entry about the video.
The second item is an expression of pure creative joy about the coast of Maine. It includes original dance, music, and art.
Thirdly, there is a compelling video dialogue featuring Betsy Biemann (President of the Maine Technology Institute) and Gary Mormino (Director of the Florida Studies Program at USF). Every state in the union needs to innovate itself out of its current economic crisis. These distinguished public policy experts explain how it might happen.
Fourth is an interview with Jerry Cumbo, who manages the shop at the world-famous Wooden Boat School in Brooklin, Maine.
And last but not least, there is my CreativeShare Studio on Long Island, Maine. This little bit of rock in the Casco Bay is where the entire U.S. North Atlantic was fueled for the liberation of Europe in WWII.
In these turbulent days, it is important to recognize that our country has survived hard times before because her citizens rose to the challenges and did what needed to be done — creatively.