Reply To: The spirit of the Three Pines community
Oh these are some great questions, Nancy! I am the first to admit that my memory is terrible for details, so I will not offer any insights from past books. But your philosophical questions are very thought provoking.
I don’t think Three Pines, as LP has written the village, has withdrawn from the outside world. I believe that the village is open and inviting to all who discover it and find it has something to offer to them, or as Libby mentions, it provides something the visitor needs. But I do think the to fit in well, the visitor or eventual fellow inhabitant needs to also offer something back to the community. And in that way, Three Pines is welcoming, but not a perfect fit for everyone who passes through. The village has businesses in the hospitality industry as well, so that is another indication that it is not withdrawn at all.
Do we have a responsibility to contribute? Yes, I do believe we do. And “outside” could have various meanings. Outside of oneself. Yes, definitely, unless you are self sufficient, living off-grid. But outside of oneself could just mean contributing to friends, family and local communities, because we do not live alone. We rely on others for many different things, so there is a responsibility to reciprocate. Contribute to our country and the world? That is more difficult I believe, and I was thinking about this all last night after reading the discussion comments here yesterday – mostly because of your comment and the resulting discussion, so thank you for sparking this thread.
As individuals, we can’t change elections with one vote. We can’t stop climate change by one person choosing to use a paper straw instead of plastic. But then we do know to vote and try our best not to harm the planet because if more and more people do the same, then there can really be an impact. If we take X as another example, one person leaving makes no difference, but I can see that more and more are not happy to support what is happening on that platform and whatever the owner’s agenda for its use. So now there is a huge growth in Bluesky and sometimes, one person can make a difference. When Stephen King announced his move, millions followed. I don’t like that it’s left to influencers and public personalities to make these decisions before readers or consumers follow because the influencers also follow the readers/consumers and if we all individually make choices based on what benefits society and the planet, influences and businesses would have to adjust to us.
I care about my friends and family and will drop everything to help them. As a Canadian, American politics and the American people are far outside my circles, but I do care about our American neighbours in that I would never support X or his other companies. I do think we regular people have a responsibility and if we work together and support each other, I believe we can make a difference because I care about justice, and value human life over power and extravagance.
