I am a hunter. 

Why I say this with a sense of mild trepidation is complicated, but the fact of the matter is that this word generates plenty of opinions and connotations, both positive and negative, some true and some false.  

I am not ashamed of who I am as a hunter.   

At times I am ashamed at what other "hunters" do, and say.

I frequently disagree with how the hunting industry portrays us, and how their marketing (read: manipulation), encourages us to portray ourselves.

At other times I am frustrated by what some non-hunters say about us, because the tendency is to paint large groups with a particular brush, positively or negatively, without consideration of the sub-groups that exist within. 

There is a dark side to the hunting community.  I believe this to be an undeniable truth.  There is also an enlightened and well-intentioned side that is often ignored.  It is not, as they say, "sexy," to the media or the activist groups.  It does not draw much attention from the community at large. Its proponents include some giants of intellectual and socio/political involvement, but the majority are quiet, pragmatic, salt of the earth people who shy away from the media spotlight.  It is based on a strong history of moral and ethical consideration.  But, like I said, it is not controversial or dramatic enough to get much attention in today's attention deficit media culture. 

Ted Nugent is controversial and dramatic.

"Black ops" hunting "tools" are controversial and dramatic.

"Gun control" is controversial and dramatic.

A lone hunter, exhausted by a day of tracking through deep wilderness, choosing to pass on a questionable shot at a prized deer, is not controversial, or dramatic, or "sexy" to the media or the non-hunting community.  Yet I find it one of the more meaningful, instructive and compelling scenarios afforded by the hunting experience.  The depth of ethical commitment, subtleties of conflicting emotions, and demonstration of deeply held spiritual values exemplified by that scenario are what sustains the practice, and tradition, and passion of hunting.  These, and other undeniably soulful experiences, are what keeps a hunter coming back season after season, successful or not.  They inspire us to introduce our children to the art of the practice, rather than just the techniques.

Much has been said about our shrinking numbers, both within and without of the hunting community.  Tag sales are down.  Hunters, as a group, are aging.  There is a push to encourage participation with the young, with women, and people of color.  I don't believe that we will inspire many new folks with the macho image of the industry marketing, nor with the back slapping, yee-hawing, post-kill celebrations depicted on TV. 

Like a marriage that strengthens long after red hot desire has faded to a sustainable warm glow, we need to help others (and often ourselves) to get past the initial obvious thrills and find the meaning and importance that is so hard to explain, but so crucial to the lifestyle. 

Teach them how to shoot.  Have them experience the graceful arcing trajectory of the stone tipped arrow, versus the zip of the compound, versus the controlled explosion of a firearm.  Introduce them to the pulse pounding, knee quivering excitement of the pursuit.  But don't neglect the awesome splendor and intrinsic value of your surroundings, the appreciation for a game animal's strength and beauty, the satisfaction of providing wholesome food for your family, the importance of wasting nothing.  Long after the trip is over and the congratulations are done, this is what we want them to remember.

Why a Blog?

Why Pro-primitive?

The simplest answer to that question is that I had a kid.  I'm well into my 40's, which is a good thing for her, but I am also aware that when she is hitting her physical peak, I will be an old man.  I already struggle with the aches and pains of someone who lived pretty hard, and I dread the thought that when she is old enough to truly appreciate the things that I love most about the world, I may not be able to join her in her discovery.  So if I will not be able to walk beside her, maybe I can leave some stories, thoughts, and experiences to help her when she heads out into the world.

I adore the world as God made it.  Everything we need to know about how we are supposed to live can be discovered in nature if we are open minded, pay attention, and think for ourselves.  The world our earliest ancestors were born into was probably the cleanest slate to learn these essential lessons from.  The things that helped us to survive, thrive, and find joy were "good."  Those things that did not were, obviously, something else. 

If history were a book, and not a slate, with every new student we could turn back to the beginning each time we wanted to learn about the world, and our progression through the lessons of history would be sequential.  Easier to make sense out of.  Easier to understand.

But history is not a book.  Information and interpretations were added to that slate to the point that, like a chalkboard covered in the scribblings of a rambling and unfocused professor, the end result is a mess that causes the eyes to glaze over and the mind to go numb.  The natural response of most students in such a situation is to try to find the simple answers.  Get the Cliff Notes.  Look it up on Wikipedia.  Copy from the "smart" kid's paper. 

Not surprisingly, there are plenty of "smart" kids ready to fill the student in.  Some of them will even charge you for it, as though the expense gives them credibility and makes the information more valuable. 

The end result is that the "learning" is superficial, the foundations of each lesson's logic are shaky and poorly understood, and humanity is doomed to make the same mistakes over and over.

Pro-primitive is an effort to start at the beginning again.  To look at the early lessons and clean the slate enough, so that when my daughter is of an age to read and learn for herself she won't have to cherry-pick "good" and "bad" without the benefit of history.  Or worse, find an existence based on some shuckster's ready-made, 12 step program to "the good life".  (Only 3 payments of 19.99 each).

So, this blog is for Harper.  And my nephews and nieces.  If you have read this far, maybe it's for you. 

You are welcome here and I hope you find value in what follows.