Blog Action Day: True Community Eliminates Poverty
Today is Blog Action Day, and the issue of the day is poverty.
As we coast through a period of economic crisis, this is an excellent issue to address. Many of the more affluent people around the world (including most Americans) are having to scale back their lifestyles; yet most of us don’t know true, third-world or Depression-era poverty.
Our government and business leaders are trying to find (or buy) a way out of this mess, so that business, and our normal, consumer-driven lives can go on.
I’m convinced that this won’t work.
Many people have said that it’s greed that got us into this situation. I agree; however, I’d like to point out that it’s not just a problem of corporate greed. It’s also a matter of personal greed, both conscious and unconscious. And our entire economy is based on this greed. The economy as it stands now depends on people buying things that they want, but don’t really need. It also depends on constant growth. Businesses are expected to sell more and more every year. I don’t know why anyone ever thought that was a sustainable model to build on.
We need a completely different kind of economy. I’m not sure what that will look like yet, but it’s something I think about a lot.
I think it will have more to do with subsistence and sustenance, and that it will involve community and sharing. We will have to depend on each other.
Again, I don’t know exactly how this will happen, but there are ways that we can begin. Which of these could you try in your own neighborhood?
- Make a double batch of dinner, and take half to a neighbor.
- Share your garden produce.
- Start a weekly or monthly community meal.
- Have a neighborhood clothing exchange.
- Create social opportunities (block parties, barbecues, etc.).
- Hold a work party for someone who needs help with yardwork or home repairs.
- Help each other with emergency financial needs. Can you all pitch in to help someone get their car or bike fixed?
The stronger your community, the better you’ll weather the hard times. Are you ready to create a new world?
This post has one comment
October 18th, 2008
So rarely do I see people draw this connection. Where I grew up in small town Mississippi, there was a reason our town of about 12k people didn’t have but one known homeless person. It was solely because of community.
Nobody would ever let anyone sleep on the street. Matter of fact that one homeless person was taken in by a church, he got on his feet and got the medical help he needed. Within about 6-8 months he was living in a nice single bedroom apartment and working. Might I add, he was very happy to be doing so.
The only thing that allowed for this to happen was solid community cohesion. Bigger cities seem to lose this so quickly, even Portland, which is actually pretty good about community as far as big cities go.
But as you point out, we need to do things like you’ve listed. Reaching out and just knowing who each other are, knowing who does what, know how and who can work together to take care of each other. We never have to worry about being down and out when a community pulls together.
Cheers – great write up.