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By THOMAS NAYLOR
http://counterpunch.org/naylor07292011.html
Where have all the village greens gone? They have been destroyed one by one. Oh, when will we ever learn, sang Pete Seeger, a long time ago.
America needs a lot more village greens and far fewer unmanned drone aircraft, F-35s, and SUVs. Village greens are small communities devoted to life, liberty, land, and locality rather than death, doom, and destruction of the planet earth.
The village green is a place near the center of town where people meet to chat, have a coffee, a beer, a glass of wine, or a bite to eat. They may also buy a newspaper or a book, read it, listen to a concert, see an art exhibit, watch a play, smell the flowers, and pass the time away. There are trees, bushes, birds, and grass and it is clean, green, and sustainable - - a place to be enjoyed for the ages. It may be across the street from the town hall, the court house, the library, or the post office - - all purveyors of freedom and democracy. Food and local trade are important elements of village greens - - locally owned restaurants and shops and perhaps a farmer’s market, not a Wal-Mart or a McDonald’s. There may also be a church nearby.
Vermont village greens are democratic, nonviolent, crime free, noncommercial, egalitarian, and humane – a mirror image of the way America once was, but no longer knows how to be.
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