Through a lot of things in our local communities we can talk about what they used to be. My dad likes to share the fond memories of Block parties and community events throughout the 70’s. Even 10 years ago the resources of local food pantries seemed to be flowing more regularity than the last visit. This is something that I brought up a month ago as I was struck by the visible demand for the local pantry in my small New Hampshire town. A state that is near the top of the list for housing costs and development, known to live free or die. But what about the lines between freedom and surviving? Freedom is hard when you are not free of dependency.
Awareness of a problem can do one of two things. We often respond to problems like funding gaps or not being able to meet the needs of our community like when we face a bear. We either dive in or dive out. We can try to fight the bear or we run from the bear. As in we get our hands dirty to make the system better or we point fingers and scape goat action onto politicians and the poor.
The realization of a problem is not a reason to run or to attack. It is a reason to act with what we can do instead of what we want to do or think we need to do. As at the end of the day needs and wants font matter, what matters is the action we are left with. Do we point fingers or do we start finding sollutions? Do we see a mess and pick up or do we say “ well I didn’t make it”. As any mother can tell you, to keep the house clean sometimes you just gotta pick up the mess and move on.
Although much of how we respond is in defensiveness to the problems and shortages in our communities.We treat the signal as though it is the problem. We act like we need more information. Bt simply telling you that for every two people that were homeless in new Hampshire last year there is now a third this year, doesn’t help. Telling you how many people use the pantry doesn’t help. Like putting pictures of cancer of cigarettes doesn’t stop people from buying. All this information does is stress us out. It back up the “ who cares” and “ there is no point” hopelessness that I have seen in communities over the last ten years.
Our communities, families and people need compassion. Compassion and empathy are not taught though numbers and graphs. These are taught through stories. Stories that have us walking in the shoes of down and the jammed. Stories that allow us to feel the pain. As when we truly feel the pain of another person these big ideas don’t matter. The ideas of work ethic don’t matter when you see the joy a warm meal does for an empty heart. This is no longer about being right. Because yes, we are a shell of what we were.
Looking to a politician or election cycle, or judge to grant you amnesty, or law as the cause or the sollutions just leaves us waiting. We can no longer sit for action. We have to create it. Not by grabbing signs and burning down fences. Not any standing in a picket line. As buffalo Springfeild said “ signing songs and a carrying signs/ Mostly say hooray for outside” .
The first way we create it is with an action. If we want help we have to give help. If we want compassion we have to give compassion. We can’t yell at aechothelr and think this is going to “ make America great” or bring about “ change”. We make the world a better place one person at a time, one mindset shift at a time. Look how school lunch programs started. Through the community action of an alliance of people that brought action into reality. Then it worked so well that it was adopted as a government program. Now we have used policies and politics to attack free and reduced lunch for children because we have left it in the hands of someone else. The people that benefit from turning compassion for youth into a political debate. People that have left the youth, street youth and other youth in need to be fed to the lions and sent to war for generations.
We have to take charge. If you want something done, the best way is to do it yourself. As your favorite government programs and rights can become the next cycle of ammunition against our communities. We have been held hostage by this weaponization of compassion and empowerment and it stops when we say “ we will do this ourselves” . As when you pull yourself up by your bootstraps no one can take away anything from you. Let’s pull our communities u by their bootstraps. If one man can overcome poverty, than so can another help those that face poverty, hunger and despair.
Dylin Bates 
Leave a comment