Local Patriotism: The Goliath of national dysfunction vs. The David of local community

Organizer: The Village Square

Local patriotism is the best antidote for the rising tribal nationalism that's overtaking the Western World. Communities are the only ground where deep relationship takes root, where common cause and simple mutual respect grows, where you can grab a beer after work or borrow a cup of sugar. Localists don't become nationalists — they don't go on shooting sprees or die of opiate overdoses. They're just too darn busy. Local patriots know too many people who disagree with them politically to hate them or to build mail bombs for them.

Here is where "those people" don't look like the enemy, they look like us. Here is where we don't have to wait around for anyone in Washington to fix it, because they won't. It's even possible that the great lesson of our time is that we've been looking in the wrong direction for help for a very long time.

Location: St. John's Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301