Einstein once said, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have
created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
In pondering the dilemma of the State's shortage of revenue and resources with regard to the so-called Governor's
Mansion, the old Simplot Mansion, atop the hill on Bogus Basin Road, I'm coming out of the closet with some views of my own.
I'm about to write a guest editorial and submit it to The Idaho Statesman & The Boise Weekly.
This may occur before or after you read this, if I can move from procrastination and
idle pontification to simply proposing the notion and letting go of the matter which I've mulled over for years now. But one
way or the other, I'd like to ask New-Agers, as well as those who speak with the experience of middle-age and from the perspective
of ages of old for your opinions and perspectives. You're welcome to send them to me by "snail" mail at POB 2341,
Boise, ID 83703, or jungianconsultancy.com. Alternatively, please, consider offering your opinions to the legislators
involved in the decision (Rep. Phyllis King, being one of several, currently of a mindset to simply sell the place and move
on), and to the Statesman & Weekly.
I'm convinced
the "problem" is less a deficit of money than a deficit of creativity, imagination, shared good will and good faith,
and vision. (Witness how much good money still goes toward empty, divisive campaigning, marketing, and consumption, even as
we bemoan our circumstances economically.) I'm equally convinced that if we lose the opportunity to create something of value
on behalf of the people and the State, the decision to sell for pennies on the dollar in a depressed real-estate market and
economy generally will be a source of less relief than long-lasting regret that will haunt us as an opportunity squandered
short-sightedly and needlessly.
The monies we would receive
would be negligible in the big picture and soon forgotten. However, the estate, the house and grounds are singularly unique
and irreplaceable. The alternative prospect of having any individual or corporation looking down on the rest of Boise and
in a place of such obvious prominence is repugnant, as is the prospect and precedent of devaluing this or any future gift
to the state. Further, for the property to revert to private hands is a regression of evolution that would reflect an anachronism
of again elevating privilege of power and wealth over values of an emerging collective awareness in which the need and
practice of co-operation, integrity, and sustainability as a species alone will insure the survival of ourselves and so many
other creatures in nature at the same time.
Best plan,
best use. What is it? In short, we are faced with a decision that will either eliminate a resource for posterity or resound
through the twenty-first century and possibly beyond. Whether we embrace it as an untapped potential, as an "unexploited
asset," we might see that the ugly duckling or perceived albatross around our neck is actually a goose that, with a bit
of caring and proper attention, is capable of laying any number of golden eggs. As such, the resource could serve as a many
faceted gift to the community, the State and its citizenry, as well as visitors and tourists from around the country and abroad.
Sold on-the-cheap to an individual or corporate entity,
the marginal revenue of property taxes, is hardly commensurate with the evolving value for citizens and the State of Idaho
for many, many years. Under careful stewardship of the State of Idaho, perhaps in collaboration with an independent panel
of advisors from various non-profits in the State, the property and grounds could provide a balance of use by individuals
and organizations, revenue and esteem for the state, showcasing products and practices, as well as the beauty of Boise, serving
as a lasting source of pride, education and example for citizens, tourists, and the Governor and Legislature of Idaho and
other states alike.
We have all witnessed the virtual
collapse of the economics of unsustainability, of hedging, greed, and deceptive practices throughout predatory capitalism.
While self-interest is indeed a foundational principle of the free enterprise system, unbridled exploitation and abuses clearly
can destroy in a flash the investments that discipline, commitment and integrity spend years creating.
In the face of a culture in needful, if painful transition, what can be done? What do
we (and, I mean, myself and all of you!) have to offer to the debate beyond the vague demand that something be done about
everything, with nothing particular advanced specifically?
In
my estimation, we need a symbol of unification. I say we adopt the Governor's Mansion, and rename it "The Governor's
Mansion & People's Place," in keeping with the original dedication of the place by the late J.R. Simplot and his
wife, Esther. An optimum reality would allow both Idaho's Governor and various entities, private and public, to utilize the
space.
Invite elite retreats at top dollar, facility use
with non-profits of right, left, and center wings of public consensus, who would in turn bring something of value to the home
and property, according to abilities and energies of the membership of each and all involved in such a mutual relationship
of meaning and contribution. An annual lottery could also insure revenue, offering some lucky family, individual, business
or corporate entity the use of the place for New Year's or July 4th fireworks celebrations, for example. The potential is
limited only to our own imagination.
Likewise, the lands
themselves, with equal or even less water than currently used for lawn, and with a lot less CO2 with the elimination of mowers,
could thrive as public parks,tended by volunteers (as well as trusted work-release inmates, secure and contributing toward
their rehabilitation through efforts on behalf of the whole), neighborhood association gardens, as well as gardens from kindergarten
through universities. County Extension agents could also have their crack at a patch of land. With workshops and festive
annual gatherings a rich cross-fertilization of ideas of sustainable agricultural techniques could occur. Special recognition
and awards for distinction of achievement, aesthetics, novel techniques, etc., could facilitate the education and economy,
as well as ecological awareness throughout Idaho and the rest of the Intermountain West, as well as the rest of the United
States and the world at large.
In short, Idaho could decide
to become a leader, in local, national and international matters of shortage, sustenance, survival and the thriving values
of a hard won reality, not a theoretical Shangri-La. We could, thereby, encourage our collective chances to do more than withstand
the hard times we are faced with, and which must be faced by more courage than it takes to try to restore the pretence of
an old way of being.
Idaho is a strong state that continues
to be able to chart its own unique destiny. We do not have, nor do we need a nuclear facility, nor a coal facility, to service
the needs of the people of the state. We need and have the potential will and strength of the people to recognize what is
right and what is not right for the development of the whole. And we can demonstrate this with a showcase symbol that can
instruct us and others at the same time.
To live local
is to invest local, whether in home, in savings, or otherwise, to travel, to patronize business, to volunteer, to care and
share life as a whole. In preserving this gift, rather than cashing it in at a special estate sale, the bequest could become
a new symbol of power of an economic clout, linked to ecological integrity and love of Idaho, honoring and evolving Mr. Simplot's
legacy and that of the State of Idaho, as well.
