Utopia (part iv)

Pagans in The Valley of The Dragons

Our search for utopia takes Andrew far from mundania to a magickal pagan community called The Valley of The Dragons.

Andrew’s 7th grade French teacher, Molly, took him on a tour that culminated in a place called The Den of Iniquity where he came to understand why every utopian community should have a sex dungeon.

New Deal Utopias

Jason Reblando’s new book is about the communities that FDR built after the Great Depression.

The five converging paths, designed for collisions with your neighbors, in the photo above show the extent to which the Greenbelt towns were designed to be communities.

FDR and his compatriot Rex Tugwell (smeared as Rex the Red for his socialist leanings) were only able to build three Greenbelt towns before opposition from anti-communists smothered the rest of their plans. “First communist towns in America” a headline of the time screamed out. Here is a photo Jason took that could have run with that headline:

This image of the pre-school co-op is proof that even though government ownership of these suburbs was liquidated in 1954, there is an alternative anti-consumerist, anti capitalist spirit alive and well in these towns.

Jason Reblando’s photos show us small towns with a sense of civic pride and modesty. Places that have managed to take the best both the city and the countryside have to offer. Places where Americans can live together and live with nature. Perhaps this is what FDR truly wanted all Americans to see: a future that is possible