The Prairie Panicle No. 17
A monthly report and recs list from West of 98
Welcome to West of 98! In addition to my weekly essays, I write a mid-month newsletter called The Prairie Panicle, which rounds up the last month’s writing and my any reading/listening/watching recommendations that I have.
I’ve got a few exciting pieces in the drafts that will set forth my vision for an American agricultural policy that actually benefits rural America. If you’ve read my work or followed me on social media for any length of time, you know that I find our post-World War II agricultural policy to be an utter disaster. These policies, created in the name of “cheap food,” have purchased that cheap food with the guts of rural America. Our economies have been shattered, our communities have been hollowed out, and our people have been driven into the cities.
The end result has contributed to a food system that is neither as safe nor as secure as we have been led to believe. That concern has been laid bare on several occasions since the COVID—19 pandemic began five years ago this month.
My platform is small, but my passion for this topic is unrelenting. If you agree with me or want to help spread my words, please share this post or my Substack with a friend via text, email, or social media. Good ideas spread fastest by word of mouth.
What I’ve Written
The most recent month of writing kicked off with a discussion of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the tendency to honor his legacy without fully acknowledging the uncomfortable nature of his work:
One of my personal favorite essays is about the personal nature of local government. I republished that essay for new audiences here:
Last year, I made a decision to unload a business that I own, because I simply could not commit enough time in my life to the things that I care about. Slowing down does not mean slowing up, though, and Ron Swanson provides some good advice here:
As I work on my vision for America’s agricultural and rural policy, I wanted to republish this essay from last year. An essential piece of that vision is a world in which more individuals can command more of their own destiny without being entrapped by big business or big government (or both). It’s also essential to the original vision of America:
Online Reading
I was an unrepentant nerd as a child and I never stopped reading (even when I needed to stop and do other things). I am thankful that my parents never told me “no” when I wanted to purchase a good, meaningful book. Brad East writes at Front Porch Republic on “How To Raise Readers” and it has great advice for any parent who wants to encourage their own child(ren) in their reading. Lauren and I do several of these things already, but I found many new and worthy tips to try as our girls grow in their reading.
My pal Basel Musharbash is a tremendous lawyer, based out of Paris, Texas. His law practice is devoted to fighting monopolies that are strangling rural America. In partnership with Farm Action, he authored this report called “Kings Over the Necessaries of Life”: Monopolization and the Elimination of Competition in America’s Agriculture System. It’s a hefty 206 page PDF that brings all the receipts for how American agriculture has come to be dominated by a small group of disproportionately powerful companies. If you aren’t up to reading the whole thing, just read the short introduction and it will chill you.
Books I’ve Read
I just finished a re-read of “Desert Solitaire”, which is probably one of my top ten favorite books. Edward Abbey’s depiction of his life as a park ranger at Arches National Monument (now Arches National Park) is some of the best nature writing ever published.
My friend Dan Stewart loaned me his copy of Fareed Zakaria’s “Ages of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present” and it’s an interesting look at the forces that shaped modern society for good and bad. I’m a fan.
Wendell Berry Read of the Month
I am regularly asked for Wendell Berry reading recommendations and I’m hoping to do a full newsletter that is a reading guide of sorts. I’m going to add a monthly recommendation in the Panicle of something written by or about Wendell Berry that is meaningful to my readers.
In the late 1980s, Berry penned an essay called “Why I Am not Going To Buy A Computer”. It was, umm, controversial. The linked PDF contains the original essay, along with some letters that Harper’s Magazine received after publishing the essay and Wendell’s reply to those letters. The essay is a thoughtful examination of how our choices individually and collectively impact our lives and the world. The angry responses show how humans can be defensive when our choices are criticized.
His “Rules For New Tools” were published in this essay and I find those rules to be invaluable on their own.
West of 98 Store
I continue to recommend Bookshop.org for book purchases so that our healthy reading habits don’t contribute to the unhealthy Amazon leviathan. Any purchase at Bookshop supports independent bookstores, but if you purchase through my West of 98 bookstore. I’ll get a small commission that goes towards this humble project.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the Rural Church and State and West of 98 podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found.
God bless you, sir. I forget how I found your Substack, but it’s music to my ears (eyes?). I left a lucrative career in 2010 to pursue a passion for local food. Not really knowing at the time all that it entailed, but believing that it was something worth a lifetime of dedication. Today I work for a rancher owned co-op in Montana that is rebuilding a regional system from ranch to community through several vertically integrated businesses. Moved back to my home state of Texas recently to raise my family around grandparents and cousins but still work for the co-op remotely. I look forward to digging in to some of these resources and following along.