The other day I picked up Saul Alinsky's Reveille for Radicals, and despite the fact that he wrote it in 1949, I have found it extraordinarily relevant. It was reprinted in 1969, in a time of rapid political upheaval, similar to today. However different America is today from 60 or 40 years ago, we are again in a time of crisis and in desperate need of clear voices which inspire us to action.
"...the answer to all of the issues facing us will be found in the masses of the people themselves, and nowhere else."
This has always been and will always be true. The top-down systems of power relations that our world operates on today deny the fact that true answers and change come from the bottom up, from those who are most exploited and oppressed. It is from below that mass popular movements are fomented and radical change enacted. Those below have the most interest in change, are the most pissed off and the most disenfranchised. Therefore any group attempting a project of radical community sustainability must necessarily be constituted by and exist within broad popular support bases. It must include all manner of people from all classes, creeds, colors and genders. This means that our little circle of mostly white college age kids must grow to include immigrants, farmers, professors, workers, mothers, the elderly etc. etc.
As it is now most of us rarely come into meaningful contact with anyone outside of our immediate circles of friends, professors, bosses and co-workers. Boone is a very segregated place. Junaluska, a historically black community, is tucked away behind Queen street, and many students have no idea that it exists. Our immigrant/ migrant worker population is practically invisible downtown, many of them living in the trailer parks off of Bamboo St. or by the Loyola St. Community Garden. Just beyond Boone, in the mountain hollers, exists a crushing, pervasive poverty which drives many of the people who live there to endlessly toil in demeaning jobs that barely bring enough money to live a desperate life. And we are heading into times when even those jobs will be even more far and fewer between.
It is necessary for us to educate ourselves on all of the various populations of Boone and the surrounding communitties. Who lives here, what do they do, what do they think about eachother, how do they live? Sure, we can go and research census data and gather all the demographics we want, but we will still be just as far from understanding the diverse and proud communities that comprise Boone. What we need to do is get out and immerse ourselves in these communitites. Not because it is a good organizing strategy but because we have a genuine interest in the lives of our fellow citizens. We must learn to listen, first and foremost. Listen to their daily existence and stories of the past, their visions of the future. We must share time and space and dreams. And then hopefully relationships will emerge. Relationships of trust, mutual understanding and compassion. That is the stuff of a true community, and what makes human existence truly meaningful.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
First Gathering
So, last Tuesday we had the first meeting for people interested in forming a radical community collective. Although there were only 5 of us who actually showed up, we has a productive few hours sharing dinner and discussing our visions for the future.
Now you may be asking, "why in the world does Boone need another group of people trying to save the world? There are enough already!". I agree. However, I would like to suggest the reason why none of these groups have succeeded yet. Sure, here in Boone we have all kinds of groups and NGOs working on all sorts of issues, ranging form environmental sustainability to domestic violence to feeding the hungry. But that's what's wrong- they are all issue based organizing, working on a specific issue, as opposed to community based organizing, which is holistic. These groups have surely succeeded in helping to make Boone a better place, but they do not address the systemic roots of the problems that they attempt to solve. I would like to suggest that the only way to addresss the systemic roots of the problems of our society is through an entire community working together to create a new way of living and interacting with one another and the environment. The various NGOs in Boone right now suffer from a lack of cooperation, to the point that many actually end up competing for resources and press coverage. Student groups are also doomed because students are necessarily a transient population, and most do not consider Boone a place worth investing serious time and energy into, because they are just going to leave after they graduate, and go do "bigger and better" things. Most students here do not know the first thing about the town of Boone, its history or the people who live and work here to make it possible for us to come and get an education. The university and the town are at odds, competing for space and differing economic interests. Boone is in danger of being eaten alive my huge corporations and greedy "developers", to the point that one day it may not be distinguishable form any other stop on the highway.
This is why we need radical community based organizing working towards true environmental and social sustainability (both of which necessitate the other).
So, our little group of people got together to talk about these things, and how we can actually start to create a community of people who are dedicated to radical sustainability in Boone. Our long term goal is to be not just another organization, but a nexus, a point of intersection for all of the other groups, in order to form coalitions, share resources, breakdown stereotypes, and form a collectively created vision of what we want Boone to be like 10, 50, 100 years form now.
We decided that it would be best for us to do some reading and discussion together, in order to educate ourselves on some political philosophy and form some common ground from which to work. We feel that it is very important for us to have common understandings about what is wrong with our society and what the best way to go about fixing it is, before we jump into more serious organizing projects. Our first readings will be form John Holloway's Change the World Without Taking Power. He takes a neo-marxist perspective on our current economic models, and emphasizes Marx's concept of fetishization, linking it to identification. I'll be sure to post the results of our discussion at the next meeting.
Now you may be asking, "why in the world does Boone need another group of people trying to save the world? There are enough already!". I agree. However, I would like to suggest the reason why none of these groups have succeeded yet. Sure, here in Boone we have all kinds of groups and NGOs working on all sorts of issues, ranging form environmental sustainability to domestic violence to feeding the hungry. But that's what's wrong- they are all issue based organizing, working on a specific issue, as opposed to community based organizing, which is holistic. These groups have surely succeeded in helping to make Boone a better place, but they do not address the systemic roots of the problems that they attempt to solve. I would like to suggest that the only way to addresss the systemic roots of the problems of our society is through an entire community working together to create a new way of living and interacting with one another and the environment. The various NGOs in Boone right now suffer from a lack of cooperation, to the point that many actually end up competing for resources and press coverage. Student groups are also doomed because students are necessarily a transient population, and most do not consider Boone a place worth investing serious time and energy into, because they are just going to leave after they graduate, and go do "bigger and better" things. Most students here do not know the first thing about the town of Boone, its history or the people who live and work here to make it possible for us to come and get an education. The university and the town are at odds, competing for space and differing economic interests. Boone is in danger of being eaten alive my huge corporations and greedy "developers", to the point that one day it may not be distinguishable form any other stop on the highway.
This is why we need radical community based organizing working towards true environmental and social sustainability (both of which necessitate the other).
So, our little group of people got together to talk about these things, and how we can actually start to create a community of people who are dedicated to radical sustainability in Boone. Our long term goal is to be not just another organization, but a nexus, a point of intersection for all of the other groups, in order to form coalitions, share resources, breakdown stereotypes, and form a collectively created vision of what we want Boone to be like 10, 50, 100 years form now.
We decided that it would be best for us to do some reading and discussion together, in order to educate ourselves on some political philosophy and form some common ground from which to work. We feel that it is very important for us to have common understandings about what is wrong with our society and what the best way to go about fixing it is, before we jump into more serious organizing projects. Our first readings will be form John Holloway's Change the World Without Taking Power. He takes a neo-marxist perspective on our current economic models, and emphasizes Marx's concept of fetishization, linking it to identification. I'll be sure to post the results of our discussion at the next meeting.
New Year, New Visions
So, I have returned from Mexico and I am currently trying to graduate form ASU. For my senior seminar class we are required to complete a sizable thesis project, so I decided to basically continue the studies I have already done in Mexico, and see what can be applied here in Boone. What does radical community sustainability look like in Boone? More specifically, what should an organization working towards radical sustainability in Boone look like?
Perhaps I should begin by defining some key terms.
Radical: By radical I mean getting at the systemic roots of the issues our society faces today. I believe that the problems we face are systemic, not just structural, and therefore require radical systemic change. Our society is now based on the world system of neoliberal capitalist globalization, and we all know how well that's going. I see this world system as a system that necessarily must go in order for humans to live a dignified life in harmony with the earth in an ecology of liberation.
Community: By community I mean a group of people who share a common heritage, vision of the future and plan for how to make that future come about. A community is also made up of relationships of trust and equality, and the people of that community strive to live in harmony with the earth that they inhabit and all of the other living creatures there. (see past 2 posts for more on community). I must stress that this notion of community is a process, not a static state of being that we can one day achieve and say "OK, now we are a community". This definition is utopian, and therefore any group of people engaging in these processes is already a community.
Sustainability: We have all heard this word over used and under appreciated for its true meaning. By sustainable I mean truly able to sustain itself over time. Or world system right now runs off of inherent contradiction and destruction. I think we need a world system that only consumes as much as it produces, and only produces as much as it needs. These production methods also honor the ecology of the earth and are beneficial rather than destructive.
So, radical community sustainability is therefore the process that a community of people engage in towards systemic change in order to create a world based on a sustainable culture.
Any suggestions on these definitions?
Perhaps I should begin by defining some key terms.
Radical: By radical I mean getting at the systemic roots of the issues our society faces today. I believe that the problems we face are systemic, not just structural, and therefore require radical systemic change. Our society is now based on the world system of neoliberal capitalist globalization, and we all know how well that's going. I see this world system as a system that necessarily must go in order for humans to live a dignified life in harmony with the earth in an ecology of liberation.
Community: By community I mean a group of people who share a common heritage, vision of the future and plan for how to make that future come about. A community is also made up of relationships of trust and equality, and the people of that community strive to live in harmony with the earth that they inhabit and all of the other living creatures there. (see past 2 posts for more on community). I must stress that this notion of community is a process, not a static state of being that we can one day achieve and say "OK, now we are a community". This definition is utopian, and therefore any group of people engaging in these processes is already a community.
Sustainability: We have all heard this word over used and under appreciated for its true meaning. By sustainable I mean truly able to sustain itself over time. Or world system right now runs off of inherent contradiction and destruction. I think we need a world system that only consumes as much as it produces, and only produces as much as it needs. These production methods also honor the ecology of the earth and are beneficial rather than destructive.
So, radical community sustainability is therefore the process that a community of people engage in towards systemic change in order to create a world based on a sustainable culture.
Any suggestions on these definitions?
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