Barn-raising.

What does the concept evoke for you?

A bunch of Amish guys with hammers swarming over a pile of wood? Let’s look at it as a concept instead.  

It’s what built this country. Cooperation. One neighbor, relative, or group helping one person or family to do more than they ever could alone. The apple harvest. The wheat harvest. Home-building. Barn-building. Wagon trains. (NOT solo wagons.) Rounding up the pigs. Slaughter and preserving animals. Cattle round-up.

It’s how people STILL live in the rural areas or small towns in this country. Helping each other. It’s a noble way of life, a life filled with meaning. With thanks, gratefulness, with that wonderful feeling that you just helped someone else have a better life. Where you’re woven into a never-ending series of favors given and received, no end in sight, the beginning far past.

A world where you don’t have to worry so much about doing “the big projects”, because you don’t have to do them on your own. Think about that, I mean really ponder it. A world where it’s natural to call on your neighbors, friends, relatives for help. Where you are more doing them a favor by asking, because you weave the community together by doing so. Where this is as much a part of life as breathing. A security infuses your everyday life. Not that hardships won’t come, but that you won’t bear them alone, but with help on every level.

Emergency at your house? No problem. As many people as needed will show up to help you. One person’s needed to watch the kids while you drive one to the hospital? Done. 14 people to help vacuum the water out of your house after it flooded? Here they come. Are some of them taking the day off work to do that, because their boss is a member of the community? Yes. Are they being paid to work at your house on the water by that boss? Possibly. Either the boss is sacrificing their pay on your account, or they’re sacrificing it by working for free for you, in any case, it’s all part of a beautiful circle, which will benefit every member in its time.

Do we have this type of community in our world today? In our country today? On this blog today? If not, why not? And if not, how can we create it? Why spend time bemoaning it if we don’t have it, let’s create it!

I would contend that creating those types of communities, both online and in person in our daily lives, is one of the most effective political acts we can commit. No, the MOST ESSENTIAL political act we can commit. Most essential.

One thing that’s so great about creating truly interwoven, giving communities? On the face of it, it’s not “political” — it’s social. It’s innocuous. But it’s powerful! It’s powerful in a way that squares or cubes the meaning of the word “powerful”. It’s the most radical,profound — and yet sweet, meaningful, and wonderful change we can make in our world.

So — that was the vision portion of this piece. Please, let’s discuss this, and not in just one diary, not just one day. Let’s not give it the add/adhd treatment.     šŸ™‚

 Now to bring this subject to the personal level, the level of this community. Last night I logged onto Booman and read that one of the premier diarists here was using a computer monitor which barely worked, and was very very small. That person lives roughly 100 miles from me. Yesterday I drove 15 miles to pay a business $10 to take an old monitor from me, and resell or recycle it. Needless to say, the irony of that is not insignificant.

Even more “synchronistic”. I’m ex-board member of a computer club in Seattle, I’m hooked in with at least 4 computer/monitor give-away programs. Add to the mix that I’ve even corresponded with that diarist personally before — she’s the person who gave me the courage to post my first diary on dKos. What’s relevant here is not that “I owe her one,” but “I kind-of personally have an email relationship with her”.

My point is — IF this diarist had asked us for help in the past, I personally could have resolved this situation long ago, and likely for no money changing hands. I sent out 3 emails about finding her a monitor, one sent at 1:02 PM.  At 1:12PM, I had a reply, “Yes, there’s one sitting in the front of the user group office waiting for someone to pick it up.” In addition, I literally know a person who probably lives within 30 miles of the diarist, who runs a computer give-away program.

My point related to the above is:
If Susan had asked in the past, the need would have been supplied instantly. If I wasn’t a part of Booman, or didn’t see that post, or wasn’t connected with my computer group, it would have been easy to fill her need, another way. $10 from 30 people, and she’s got $300 for a computer monitor, easy.

So — why didn’t she ask? Why, if this is a community, as so many have said it is, didn’t she feel that it would be (back to the vision thing) doing us a favor to allow us to help her, via making her need known? After all, helping someone else a little bit, keeps the pump primed for the time when we need a little bit of help.

Thus: I propose that we radically, politically, socially change our vision of asking for help. That we see it not as weakness in some macho view of the world. Or failure in some 50’s isolationist nuclear family model of the world: “I’m not doing it all MYSELF”.

I propose we see asking as a privilege, because it means we’re a part of a community that cares. That we see it as a privilege for the others to give, because it infuses their lives with meaning, usefulness, community, belonging, and an avenue to share love.

Barn-raising. A metaphor for the kinds of community we need to create, to live in, to breathe in, to love in. What better legacy for our children and our world?

Ask, and you help to create that community.