How many SONGLINES regarding the idea of Progress could there be in the route we've chosen across the country? For now we are thinking of progress as something that comes back with a vengeance.
1. One SONGLINE could be the original people's thrust to improve life. Dating back from the first settlers moving to the west until their virtual comeback in the form of dust related to modern agricultural practices as seen in the Dust Bowl.
2. Another, more suited for architects, could be to follow the path of the sky-scraper. From it's development in NY and Chicago to the dissemination across the country and finally to it's destruction back in NY by airplanes.
3. Yet another, this one with no coming or going, could be to trace the major catastrophes in NY, Washington, Chicago, New Orleans, New Mexico, San Francisco, throughout their recent history. This would build a map of events in time with no chronological sequence.
4. Or the trail of the atomic bomb Manhattan project which had several locations, many of which, along the SONGLINE path.
5. ...
All these relate to progress as something that is always on the way of turning against us. But they also make proof of the ingenious ways to overcome setbacks.
So, progress as an acceptance of fragility instead of an affirmation of power.
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