I recently saw a post on social media that spoke about the need to build new systems as a strategy of effectively combating what is currently happening in the U.S., and I’d like to explore this idea. To build something requires us to create, which seems to me a fitting and natural response to the destruction we are witnessing. It can be hard to create in the wake of destruction though. Many of us find ourselves scared, outraged and longing for what once was. But as we all know, you can’t go back in time. And as we have all been learning, the systems that existed didn’t actually work for many Americans. It’s why some folks are ok with the destruction of those systems. So, what does the path ahead look like? Here are some of my thoughts.
The path ahead looks like championing others. One thing that our club and other Democratic clubs are doing is adopting sister organizations. Pinpointing who is already out in our community trying to improve the health of our citizens, our environment, and our economy, and throwing our resources behind them. To us, this means working with organizations who are doing things that align with our values.
For example, the Auburn Area Democratic Club (AADC) has voted to adopt the Gold Country Food Hub (GCFH) as an organization we’d like to support. We’ll do this because the work the GCFH is doing is something we as Democrats believe in. Like the GCFH, we support local farmers and believe everyone should have access to high quality, clean food. We understand the importance of regenerative agriculture for the long-term success of our environment. We know that a healthy economy builds its roots from local small businesses. We also know that backing other organizations out there doing good work only serves to make our whole community better; we all benefit from this. We’ll advocate for funding and policies that support farmers and local foods systems. We’ll offer them volunteer support in their day-to-day operations and for special events, and we’ll link them with resources within the community and from within our club.
I also think the path ahead includes thinking outside the box. It’s worth taking a hard look at what has been tried in the past and whether or not it was effective. Some activities/efforts are effective in reinforcing the beliefs of our political party. Some activities are effective in showing fellow community members that our club exists. Some activities show our commitment to community betterment. Every activity has a function (often more than one) and should be designed to meet a goal. It’s easy to default to strategies we’ve used before, but we can all acknowledge that some of those strategies fall short of our goals. As we work to create a new path, let’s brainstorm and be willing to try something new.
Another vital aspect of our path is expanding our community. Democrats are a group of folks who have similar views on many aspects of life and policy. However, we are certainly not all the same in our beliefs. So how can we unite? We can start by focusing first on shared values and perspectives. Align where you can align. When it comes to differences of opinions, we can practice what we hope others will: empathy and consideration. Politics, after all, is the art of compromise; sometimes you don’t get everything on your wish list, but you get progress.
If we want folks to consider our perspectives on things we should model this by considering other folks’ perspectives. Seek to understand first, then ask questions. From here you can start building upon where you align. As we build common understandings and grow our community our efforts will have greater impact, and the systems we build will have greater resiliency.
