Chapter 24 Speculations FutureSmart money on youth; Troubadours; Local heroes; Winds of change; Vernacular values; The Ancient Mariners awake.
But perhaps it need not be so. The smart money will be going on youth. They are being quietly taught by the troubadours to think for themselves and see things as they are. They will come out singing and not shooting. Guitars in hand and amplifiers at the ready, they will ride out astride the old Viking religions and alongside the traditional Swedish gods.Trust the kids
Give them their head
Let them have your money
The election game is up
Let the rumpus begin
I think therefore I partyBut what of the rest of us? If we are not to drift out to sea to be lost forever, then we must find ourselves some beach to make our own and set about the daily task of seeing that this small universe of ours is kept in good order. Each of us can be a Local Hero. This the ladies have understood far better than their menfolk. Only the local is real.
Or perhaps, if you prefer, you could see it in much the same way as E.F.Schumacher used to see it. If you look at it this way then you find that if one could make visible the possibility of alternatives, make a viable future already visible in the present, no matter on how small a scale, then at least there is something. And if that something fits it will be taken. If the little people can do their own thing again, then perhaps they can do something to defend themselves against the overbearing big ones.
So we certainly never need feel discouraged. We can’t ourselves raise the wind that might blow us, or this ship, into a better world. But at least we can put up the sail so that when the wind comes, we can catch it.
And if that is not specific enough for you then perhaps George Orwell’s words are more to your liking. If you hate violence, he wrote and don’t believe in politics, the only remedy remaining is education.
And this properly translated means that whatever ship you choose to sail in and whatever beach you decided to settle down on, you should remember that education, like charity, starts at home. Your nation is the circle of your friends. See to it that you have your family with you. Seems familiar?
We have come full circle. Finding ourselves reaching back to the traditional values of the Viking culture of a thousand years ago. And if you want to know what I think, these vernacular values are eternal. Whenever and wherever men have gone down to the sea in boats then this same set of values would regulate their behaviour and guide their deliberations.
All hail ye Norwegians, Danes and Swedes
How noble a heritage ye pass on in the world
We the Ancient Mariners
Guardians of the past
Masters of our craft salute ye
Launch your boats
Sing your songs
Tend to your gardens
A new Viking Age is dawningThe End