I've been so inspired lately by the Occupy Wall Street efforts - mirrored here as Occupy Asheville - and by what I have been learning in the Leadership Asheville course offered through the NC Center for Creative Retirement. Even though I've lived in Asheville for 18 years now (could it be?) and love Asheville, each week when our class learns about a certain aspect of our small city, I am so impressed with what people are doing in each of the areas studied (providing food, Education, Economy, Environment, healthcare, government, law enforcement and fire department, the arts).
The organization "Handmade in America," for example, went into one small town, determined the town's assets with the people and along with them built a life-size replica of a Cherokee homestead. They did similar projects in six small towns along the Blue Ridge Parkway to attract tourists and revitalize each the towns' cultural heritage and economy.
I have been studying "assets-based" community building and highly recommend the work and books by both John McKnight and Peter Block. One book they wrote together. Published in 2010, it is entitled "The Abundant Community and is only 180 pages long. My favorite book by John McKnight (co-authored with John P. Kretzmann)is "Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets. It is a workbook that a small group within an existing neighborhood can use to catalyze their residents into what I would describe as a true or functional community where everyone is connected, contributing for mutual benefit and collaborating for a better future for all.
While we can rail against the inequities and attempt to hold our political leaders (along with the banks and multinational corporations, etc. that prostitute them) accountable - and I think this is extremely important to do - I believe we also must revitalize our relationships and productivity within the communities in which we already live. We can grow food and livestock in community gardens, raise and educate our children together - elders and all involved, and learn Dynamic Governance to generate innovations and make new decisions in every aspect of life.
While having more money can help, unfortunately taking it also serves to make us more dependent upon the very system we rail against. I believe what will make the biggest difference as to our quality of life over this next 20-50 years, is how well we can work with each other and with the earth to co-create new solutions and new ways of being in the world.
