by Dr. David Fialkoff, Editor / Publisher

Lao Tsu founded Taoism... inadvertently. Disgusted with civilization, 2500 years ago, the "Old Master" was leaving for the wilderness that was China's Western Lands, when a gatekeeper on the frontier persuaded him to give forth the seminal Taoist text, the Tao Te Ching.

Here is the last third of chapter 20:

Another ancient religion, Manichaeism, founded in Persia in the 3rd century, containing Christian, Gnostic, and pagan elements, was or is a dualistic religious system based on the primeval conflict between light and darkness.

Today, "Manichean" refers to a binary, something that is black or white, on or off. Students at universities are taught to see all politics in the Manichean terms of victim or oppressor. Yes, such radical oversimplification is inadequate to grasp what is actually going on in the world, but it does give the user feelings of certainty and righteousness, all with no thinking required.

I want in on that game. Entering the victimhood Olympics, I declare, here and now, that I too am a "victim." Twelve-years-old in 1969, and a precocious, budding teenager in the early 70s, I was and still am a "victim" of the Hippie Movement. More particularly, I am a "victim" of Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching, which I bought at Huntington's Bookstore on Asylum Avenue in downtown Hartford. (I wonder if I could still sue.)

With those Taoist "anti-establishment" chapters as my bible, I entered on a life far outside the norm. Turning my back on my "real world" potential ("I could have been a contender"), I pursued a philosophical quest in the "Western Lands." The results are as you see me: lean, scratched, bug-bitten and terribly alone.

Lao Tsu refers to himself above as "confused" and "depressed." I fit on both counts. Yes, frequently, working on Lokkal, a local internet project that could change the world, I am joyfully with great purpose. But just as frequently I wonder if I am not merely fooling myself. The world, after all, does not seem to want to be changed.

And, more or less, I am alone. Yes, I have more writers contributing articles to this magazine. Also, there are more people contributing their hard-earned cash to support the platform. (Donate) And, of course, both of these developments are wonderful.

But Lokkal's potential is far from fulfilled. So far, I only have a few people (God bless them) volunteering to "curate" the community, to gather data and photographs about their passion: pizza, mezcal, classes, chocolate, sculpture, history, organic pet food... so that Lokkal can present those data and photos as a guide.

Here's the deal: I am sure that we, the local people, can make a better database/search engine for San Miguel than Google can remotely, with all their money and with all their artificial intelligence.

A better search engine means that some of the big, big advertising money now flowing to Google would stay flowing here, enriching the local economy. A local social network (like Facebook, but local) would also keep advertising revenues circulating locally, and Lokkal has a local social network. (Why not join and make a page?)

Moreover, a vibrant local online community encourages a more vibrant local real-life community. And better local community solves most of the problems facing society today.

I go to sleep thinking that I can change the world. And, depending on which side of the bed I get out of, I wake, like Lao Tsu says of himself, "dim and weak." I know, the self-help manuals advise that in winning friends and influencing people it's best not to express doubt. But it makes me sad.

How many people have a practical, financial plan that stands a chance of changing, of actually saving, the world, and quickly? Shouldn't there be a line at my door?

The media has us so concerned about politics and the poor. I've got a practical solution - the most successful business stratagem ever - search engine and social network - applied locally in the public interest. But no one, not for love nor money, wants to turn off the media and get to work.

Back in the Sixties, in his song Sunshine Superman, Donovan sang, "Everybody's hustling just to have a little scene." That encapsulates what I'm up against. Capitalism has done too good a job at making us individual consumers; young people aren't even getting married or having babies. Hyper-individualism - "I've got mine," "Look at me" - blinds us to community.

The real magic of San Miguel is our sense of community. The expat community is lovely. But more fundamental and underlying that, whether you are directly involved in it or not, is the Mexican community. Referencing another song from the Sixties, a little earlier in that decade and in a different genre: "What the world needs now is..." community.

My religion is community. And I comfort myself regarding the possibility of my worldly "failure" with the idea that my heavenly reward is assured.

Heaven, I imagine as a party. There is a large room with food, music and a dance floor at its center. If you lived community while you were alive, you are up and dancing. If you sometimes got it right, you are sitting towards the edge of the room, watching others dance. If you were only selfish, you are outside, often in the cold, dark and rain, looking in through a window... and that's hell.

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Dr. David Fialkoff presents Lokkal, our local social network, the community online and off, Atención robustly reborn for the digital age. If you can, please do contribute content, or your hard-earned cash, to support Lokkal, SMA's Voice. Use the orange, Paypal donate button below. Thank you.

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