Traditional Skills
Or, Why Trad Bros Need To Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is
This could be considered an unofficial Part II to yesterday’s topic about avoiding doomscrolling and brainrot.
But it’s unofficical because that was going in a slightly direction with the practical advice.
Today’s topic of the day is part of a wider exploration of reorienting oneself to the physical world rather than the digital hyperreality we’ve collectively created over the past fifteen years or so.
Get A Traditional Craft (Or Ten) As A Hobby
Today I went on a traditional woodcrafting course. Specifically, I learned how to make walking sticks. But as part of that, I learned about whittling, using hand tools, oiling and finishing wood, and working with bones/horns/antlers.
It was a great day to be honest.
I met some friendly, knowledgeable people, spent a few hours learning some new skills, and came home with a staff that makes me look sufficiently wizardly.
Not only that, I’ve come home, ordered some click-and-collect action on the basic tools I’ll need to get into whittling and stick-making at home, and for the cost of probably about £50, I’ll be able to repeat what I’ve learned today until I’m either good at it or I’ve run out of possible places to find sticks.
Which, I’m not overly talented at handy crafts, so either/or.
Jamie, I’ve Missed These Rambles
Earlier on in the week, I spoke to my friends about how I was going to learn how to make sticks. And while the joking, jovial questions about why I was learning to do this, or whether I wanted to become a wizard, (newsflash; the ship sailed on that a while ago,) were all in good faith, I basically had this answer:
Everyone agrees to some extent that traditional crafts and skills should be kept alive. Fundamentally, that’s done by doing them.
Like, Heritage Foundations can pump money into trying to keep heritage crafts alive, but ultimately, it’s the person who does the glassblowing or tinsmithing or axe forging that keeps it alive, not the government money.
And me, no saint here; I’ve said for a long time that it’s important to keep old knowledge, skills and technology alive. Yet, personally, internet-addicted, makes-money-from-the-typing, considers-everything-from-breakfast-onwards-an-automation-opportunity, McSloy needs to start practicing what he preaches on that front.
Hence, Go Outside, learn some skills and be more interesting, which, if you’re a real long-term follower of the blog projects, used to be practically mantras in the early days. They’re now back in style.
At a personal level, learning traditional skills is important in your path of forging a unique identity for yourself. Maybe you have no interest in walking sticks, or composting, or growing Acer trees, playing musical instruments. It’s ultimately irrelevant.
You’ll probably benefit from doing something that’s offline, traditional, helps you build things and stretches your brain and soul in new ways. That’s mostly up to you to find.
At A Non-Personal Level
Not to get all political about things, but let’s say you’re somewhat conservative in your political views. By that, I mean actually conservative. You want to conserve society, believe that change should be carefully deliberated upon and gradually introduced, and should be done in a way that’s socially and fiscally responsible.
If that’s you, then my commiserations. That sort of conservatism has been completely wiped out and benched in favour of neoliberalism that calls itself conservatism and the new breed of right wingers are even more progressive in their we’re-totally-right-wing-guys-look-at-all-the-ways-we’re-gonna-own-the-libs policies.
Like I said, I don’t want to get all that political except to use it as framing to continue the above theme for the article; there is no political party in the West that’s really about traditional Western values in any real sense, nor is there likely to be one anytime soon.
The good news about political change is that, despite what we’re all led to believe, it’s incredibly local and bottom-up in its success.
In other words, you have two choices; you whine across an increasingly bot-infested social media landscape, or you simply bring about change by being it.
If you think men should be strong, then you hit the gym until other guys are jealous of your physique and are prompted into action.
If you want to live in a nice village, do a litter pick and volunteer at the communal gardens.
And so on. This will achieve two things:
- You will gain more knowledge, experience and status at an individual level
- Your community will benefit in a far more real and tangible way than your ballot paper could ever achieve
This then, not really about traditional skills unless you care about it. But the rules above work just as well for progressives with a little spin on them.
But with traditional skills, you at least get everyone complimenting you on your walking stick.
See you in the next one,
Jamie