I won the Nobel Peace Prize!

I won the Nobel Peace prize last night! Okay, I was just playing the game of Life with friends, and that is how I won the prize. But don’t you think it is great that in the past I have imagined myself winning the Nobel Peace Prize for helping neighborhoods everywhere become thriving, self-reliant communities, and now I can say it actually happened? I mean, it did—it is a fact. Just because it was a little piece of paper and a seemingly random pick doesn’t matter! I won it! No one can deny it. I had witnesses.

This is the really funny thing. I don’t like playing games. But I wanted to join my daughter and my friends at a game-playing gathering. I have been choosing to get out more (partly because I am getting offered rides—I don’t have a car) and partly because I want to connect with friends, and party because I want to get a feel for other community gatherings that were taking place. You see, I have noticed over the past 45 years or so of my life that people love to get together to share meal and have fellowship. That is why I am so drawn to the idea of a community gathering as a way of encouraging people to cooperate to work together to create the neighborhoods and communities they envision.

So after a nice potluck meal and some wonderful visiting, it is time to play the game of Life. I try to wiggle out of it. I don’t really want to play. Games seem so contrived and often useless. And you have to sit and wait for others to take your turn. I just hate sitting and waiting (I got allergic to that in so many years of school!) I had brought my computer. I want to be writing—doing something “useful!” But my daughter, Mahriyanna, who is eleven, urges me to play. I want to nurture her. I want to be with her. So I stay and play.

Actually, it was quite fun. It was different way to relate to people. That’s a good thing-get out of the usual mind set. I can imagine being at a Community Gathering where one part of the large room is set up for gamers. Lots of card tables are available. Many different games are going on. I get to know Ron Paul supporters in a fun way. I imagine some of us even develop a Ron Paul board game that is just the opposite of the game of Life. No taxes. You aren’t forced to do anything! Creative abounds because of the lack of controls. People cooperate a lot more, and at the end, the person who wins is the one who contributed to the well being of others while joyfully sharing his or her own talents and gifts. And everyone wins because we got to laugh and play and get to know each other.

One of the saddest thins in the world is how people have so little time to play any more--with their kids and with each other. How about if we who are Ron Paul supporters and lovers of liberty take a bit of time to create a Community Gathering in our neighborhood? We can have a chance to play with each other—don’t you think that would be fun?

And in the new game of Life where Ron Paul’s ideals are the norm, I can still win the Nobel Peace Prize! That would stay the same!

Freedom, oh freedom on my mind!

I woke up this morning with my mind on freedom. That song, an old Negro spiritual (I believe) literally was in my head one of the first moments as I was just waking up. I imagined myself leading this song at a Ron Paul rally. Thousands of people who support Ron Paul are clapping and singing. The harmonies are amazing. The musicians and other singers on stage are totally in sync and stoked. We can feel the freedom. We can feel the possibilities of what could happen—if Ron Paul is elected AND if we can work together to help Ron Paul do things such as bring our troops home from Iraq.

But now I cry. In fact, I am weeping. The tears are rolling down. I need to blow my nose. Excuse me. Okay, I’m back. I cry because of the lack of freedom I am afraid I am about to have.

You see, I am thinking that I need to focus all my attention on getting paying work. And then when I get the work (if I do), then I probably need to work at doing something that is unrelated to supporting Ron Paul for president, and the wonderful freedom movement that is rising up.

I also won’t have much time to promote the first Community Gathering which I am hosting this Friday, Oct. 5. I believe with all of my heart that if Ron Paul supporters and other lovers of freedom could just see the possibilities of Community Gatherings being held in every neighborhood—maybe even every block—that the power of the people could be unleashed. I can see it, taste it, feel it, touch it, hear it. It seems so real to me. I have seen and heard about what happens when people can come together in a spirit of cooperation—in an environment that encourages personal empowerment. Miracles happen. Neighborhoods are transformed. People do things they never thought they could.

And then I cry. The sobs are deep. The tears flow. How can I describe the pain that comes from feeling so helpless? I have been able to live without working at jobs I don’t like for almost a year now because of the generous inheritance that my dear mom left me. During that time, I got to spend more time with my children than ever before—that has been such a blessing. My dream was that if I could just have more time to focus on creating a right livelihood helping neighborhoods become thriving, self-reliant communities, then I would never have to go back to cleaning or organizing or gardening. I was just so sure that I could do it.

But now I need to pay a lot of bills. I just can’t put them off any longer. I say to myself, like a parent to a child, “You have to be responsible—you can’t keep working on what you’re a passionate about. You have to do the right thing”

And I wonder, “What is the right thing.”

The sobs are subsiding. I feel a little more peaceful. Perhaps it is time to pray. Perhaps it is time to imagine what I want, rather than what I don’t want. I will do so in my next blog.

We could show youtube videos at Community Gatherings

Wouldn't it be wonderful to show videos such as this at Community Gatherings? People can show others videos too--like about how to create successful neighborhoods, or how to turn their front lawn into a garden, or other educational or entertaining topics. If we had the Gathering in a church where there might be an extra room, we could have a whole film festival once a week of short clips--or longer. The point is this: Community Gatherings are a place where people who might not have access to Youtube can get access.

So here is a great youtube video with Ron Paul talking about the income tax, with great music behind it...

A brief description of a Community Gathering

A community gathering is a way for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together around a common theme: to make their lives better through connection and cooperation. Sharing a meal, having a safe place for children to play, providing a space for promotional materials of all types, and creating fun networking tools are the basics.

What are your needs and goals? You have an opportunity to share this at a Community Gathering, and find others with whom you can be mutually supportive. Starting a community garden, getting a neighborhood emergency plan together, getting a play group together, learning and teaching valuable skills and knowledge, creating alternatives to the money system, electing officals who are honest and accountable, finding support in hard times—all of this can happen. And in the process, you might just make some wonderful friends. All of these things can happen at a community gathering, and more.

I hope that Ron Paul supporters, especially ones who have families and who find it difficult to go to meetings and other get togethers where it might be hard for children to attend, might sponsor community gatherings in their neighborhoods and communities. I want to be available to help people to do this, by writing a handbook, providing a forum and continuing to write this blog. I really hope a lot of Ron Paul supporters come to the local gathering on Oct. 5 at Walker Park in Fayetteville at the large gazebo near S. College. You can bring all the Ron Paul promotional material you want, and talk to people as well!

Ron Paul is for the environment!

One of the groups I really want to reach are environmentalists. I am collecting information that helps me to present to them why Ron Paul is for the environment. I hope that environmentalists who attend our Community Gatherings will be open to hearing about a presidential candidate who may not want to support the Kyoto Treaty, or use big government [power to control global warming. Perhaps in a slow paced environment, where they see how community gatherings are promoting such things as community gardens and alternative energy, they will be really open to Ron Paul's mesage. You see, we are trying to inspire some people to make a quantum leap in their thinking.

Although I feel encouraged by the number of people who do see the truth of what Ron Paul is talking about very quickly, there are still those who need more time and connection to change life-long held views.

Here are some words that I found inspiring from some posts from the www.dailypaul.com website about where Ron Paul stands on the environment.

Don't write off the enviro folks.

Global warming may or may not be happening at the pace some say, but there's no doubt that using up all our resources and polluting is not good. And our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels in general is going to become a bigger and bigger issue as new sources become more scarce.

Ron Paul's idea of free markets will enable alternate energy sources to be developed faster and more affordably. Solar cells aren't quite 25-20 % efficient, but they're almost there. Right now, since the big corporations like Exxon have a grip on the government, they lobby/payoff the government to make laws that benefit them which suppresses the development of other sources of energy, like solar cells. In a truly free market, the laws of supply and demand would take over (not to mention being better for small/start-up business; again, we know who gets corporate welfare when their business is down and benefits from certain laws).

Don't forget about the laws they get passed that actually let Corps pollute. What about all those electric cars we've been hearing about for years, and occasionally see a newer model, yet never seem to become widespread and affordable? Yes, that cozy corporate/government relationship is not good for the environmentally friendly technologies to prosper. (until it's decided that some global eco-crisis is here and we must remove Americans from certain spots in North America to other spots - I personally have mixed feelings about the motivation behind certain aspects of the "global warming" hysteria.)

And what about what Ron Paul calls the No. 1 cause of pollution? War. Not only the actual acts of war and destruction of environment and wildlife, but the huge military-industrial complex which churns out sludge to support it.

Also, Voted NO on forest thinning in order to protect endangered species and clean water sources.

Do these sound like solid R.P. talking points for Enviros? Unfortunately, many of us are one-issue voters so I hope this helps when you try to peak their interest in the Good Doctor.

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my short but good convo with a young "enviro" yesterday

On September 28th, 2007 ProspectorSam says:

As I was walking, with 2 of my meetup members, through town with my Ron Paul sign yesterday, a young guy (college-age) came running up from behind me asking something about "the environment". I turned around to hear what he was saying, and here's how it went. (Reconstructed from memory; this is pretty close)

Me (politely): What about the environment?

Him: What does he want to do about global warming?

Me: What do you think causes global warming?

Him: Cars... electricity... various kinds of energy production.

Me: Well, I agree we could use some better, cleaner kinds of energy sources; what do you think is preventing us from getting them?

Him: The big oil companies are in bed with the government and...

Me (pulling a slim jim from my back pocket and handing it to him): Here's your man.

Frankly, I started that one out expecting it to probably be a difficult conversation, since I expected him to be a hard-core socialist Al Gore type (and hey, maybe he is/was). It would have been easy to just write the guy off at the outset; I could have simply said something like "you may not agree with him on that, but check him out anyway" but something told me to just ask him questions. Turned out the kid was already hip to the root of the problem, even though he probably doesn't look at it all the same way I do (and how I think Ron Paul does) at every level. But if we agree on the fundamental problem and what ought to be changed as it pertains to the federal gummint, then we don't have to agree on every particular of what we may want in our free, voluntary society... we can each pursue our own course there.

BTW, the "feel" of the conversation was helped by the fact that he kind of "fell in" with us for a bit as we were walking; I figured that that indicated he was willing to engage a little bit, and not just looking for a quick one-line answer. Not everyone does that. I like it when they do.

There were other neat stories from yesterday's walk, too. If you haven't started walking your town with a RP sign, I encourage you to do so at once. Just remember to smile and be friendly. You'll be glad you did. ;-)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Get active NOW to put Ron in the general election. ronpaul.meetup.com

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Why Ron Paul supporters need to reach out to underserved and underheard

I came across this comment on www.dailypaul.com which I thought was a good point to support my views that we need to have a strategy to reach minorities, poor, disenfranchised people--

"I'm as fervent a supporter of Ron Paul as one can be, but I feel tonight's performance was not his best.

Lately, I feel like Dr. Paul has been falling back on his base of supporters and giving them the typical sound bytes that we all agree with. But I don't think Ron Paul has a problem with energizing his base - we're pretty damn energized I'd say. We'll vote for him come hell or high water, so his focus needs to be to get more people to convert to the message of liberty. And this is not an easy task to undo decades of anti-freedom brainwashing.

People won't change their vote because of a 1-minute answer. The 1-minute answer may encourage someone to Google or YouTube a candidate, and then after some research, they may shift their allegiances. But let's be honest, the average Ron Paul supporter is of a higher breed. Dr. Paul can't just say "Freedom" and expect people to react with a Pavlovian response (Like neo-cons do with "terror" or "9/11"). No one votes for RP unless they believe in liberty, and that must be the goal.

We Ivory Tower activists can wax indefinitely on the merits of Freedom, Anarcho-Capitalism, Austrian Economics, etc. because we have that luxury. We don't like that the government taxes us, but we live pretty happy lives nonetheless. We support the ideology of Ron Paul's message, not the necessity.

Unfortunately, a lot of people vote based on necessity. And people in tonight's audience, concerned with Black issues, have real problems. Problems, I might add, that can certainly be solved with more freedom and individual rights and smaller government. But the people cheering for him ALREADY KNEW THAT.

I think Ron Paul was weak tonight in convincing people that his message of liberty is applicable to all people. I know RP stands for freedom because of a truly honest desire to help people, but he needs to tailor his answers to fit the audience; to show them that Number 1 - he cares about those people, and then Number 2 - that freedom is the way to help them. I think RP just skipped over Number 1."

I hope that this inspires you to think more about the idea of community gatherings to reach out to people--both because we want to elect Ron Paul, and we want to show them that we care about them. We are representatives of Ron Paul, right?

Come join me at a Community Gathering

Ron Paul supporters are welcome to bring materials to promote Ron Paul, just as anyone else is welcome to bring materials to share what they are interested in promoting. And, feel free to talk to people about Ron Paul--this atmosphere will be one where conversations are encouraged. Check out the description--and if you are local I hope you can come. If not, perhaps you might like to duplicate this activity in your neighborhood or home town. Let me know how it turns out!

The Community Gathering

We are gathering to deepen our sense of community in our neighborhoods and our world. Everyone is invited.

Friday, Oct. 5, 6-10PM
Walker Park, Fayetteville, large gazebo near S. College
Potluck dinner. Please bring your own dishes and utensils. If you don’t have food to share, come anyway! Do you best to share what you have.

 Do you need work? Let’s network!

 Do you have goals and ideas that you want to share with others? Let’s share ideas and resources!

 Do you want to make new friends and deepen old friendships? Let’s share an evening together!

You are welcome to bring:
 networking materials to promote your business, or other topics you enthusiastically support
 musical instruments and games,
 things to give away like seeds, clothes, household items.
 your ideas for topics to discuss—we will have fun ways to help people find similar minded people.
 anything else that you think will inspire connection and fun.

Please invite anyone you like to attend, especially already existing groups that have similar values and goals, and also people in the Walker Park neighborhood

If you have any ideas to share, or would like help in sponsoring a Community Gathering in your neighborhood, please contact Patricia Mikkelson, founder and director of the Livable Future Project.

Sponsored by Livable Future Project, helping neighborhoods become thriving, self-reliant communities

For more information: Patricia Mikkelson community_gathering@yahoo.com
Learn more about the larger vision at http://www.communitygathering.blogspot.com

Ron Paul : When in the course of human events...

All you Ron Paul supporters out there--this is important to share with your friends. And, it might just inspire you to start a Community Gathering in your neighborhood so that the spirit of community and connection that you will see mostly at the end can happen even more! Who knows, maybe Ron Paul will get on board and help promote Community Gatherings. If anyone has any ideas on how to get his attention, I'd like to hear about your ideas.

Ron Paul and Bill O'Reilly Duke It Out (09/10/07)

This is an example of just the opposite of what will take place at Community Gatherings. People will be encouraged to dialogue about their differences, and find understanding. Of course, we can't force people to do this, but we sure can create an environment which is conducive. Bill, you sure could benefit from some lessons about non-violent communication!

The Chairman of the Board supports Ron Paul! ~

At Community Gatherings, music will be a very important part of the events, including sing alongs, open mic, jam sessions, and even worship (only for those who wish to partake) Because ideally there will be various rooms for activities to take place, music will be away from the conversations so that people can feel more free to participate.

This song might well be one that a Ron Paul supporter might sing at an open mic. Check it out! It is great!

Growing Food in support of Ron Paul's values

This website looks to me like one of the best resources out there about how we can grow more food so we can be more self-reliant and exemplify the values that Ron Paul and his supporters stand for.

EDIBLE ESTATES

Edible Estates is an attack on the American front lawn and everything it has come to represent.

Edible Estates reconciles issues of global food production and urbanized land use with the modest gesture of a domestic garden.

Edible Estates is an ongoing series of projects to replace the American front lawn with edible garden landscapes responsive to culture, climate, context and people.

Edible Estates is a practical food producing initiative, a place-responsive landscape design proposal, a scientific horticultural experiment, a conceptual land-art project, a defiant political statement, a community out-reach program and an act of radical gardening.

Our Lawn
Why do we dedicate so much land to a space with so little function that requires the consumption of so many precious resources and endless hours of maintenance while contaminating our air and water?

The American front lawn is almost entirely a symbolic gesture. Exactly what it represents has shifted from its ancestry in English estates to today's endless suburban carpet of conformity. Originally manicured by grazing animals, an ornamental sweeping lawn would occupy otherwise valuable farmland surrounding a manor estate, demonstrating the owner's wealth while keeping the production of his vegetable garden out of view. In this tradition, today's American lawn has become the default surface for any defensible private space. An occasional lawn for recreation can be a delight, but most lawns are only occupied when they are being tended.

The lawn devours resources while it pollutes. It is maniacally groomed with mowers and trimmers powered by the 2 stroke motors responsible for much of our greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrocarbons from mowers react with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight to produce ozone. To eradicate invading plants it is drugged with pesticides which are then washed into our water supply with sprinklers and hoses dumping our increasingly rare fresh drinking resource down the gutter. Of the 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 17 are detected in groundwater and 23 have the ability to leach into groundwater sources. The lawn divides and isolates us. It is the buffer of anti-social no-mans-land that we wrap ourselves with, reinforcing the suburban alienation of our sprawling communities. The mono-culture of one plant species covering our neighborhoods from coast to coast celebrates puritanical homogeneity and mindless conformity. Lawns cover 30 million acres of the United States while 349 million acres are used for crops.

Our Food
Meanwhile at the grocery store we confront our food. Engineered fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic and styrofoam, cultivated not for taste, but for ease of transport, appearance and uniformity, then sprayed with chemicals to inhibit diseases and pests that thrive in an unbalanced ecosystem. Organic farming accounts for less than 1% of the United States agriculture output. The produce in the average American dinner is trucked 1,500 miles to get to the plate. We don't know where our fruits and vegetables came from or who grew it. Perhaps we have even forgotten that plants were responsible for this mass-produced product we are consuming.

This detachment from the source of our food breeds a careless attitude towards our role as custodians of the land that feeds us. Perhaps we would reconsider what we put down the drain, on the ground and in the air if there was more direct evidence that we will ultimately ingest it.

The Edible Estates Initiative
Edible Estates proposes the replacement of the American lawn with a highly productive domestic edible landscape. Food grown in our front yards will connect us to the seasons, the organic cycles of the earth and our neighbors. The banal lifeless space of uniform grass in front of the house will be replaced with the chaotic abundance of bio-diversity. In becoming gardeners we will reconsider our connection to the land, what we take from it and what we put in it. Each yard will be a unique expression of its location and of the inhabitant and their desires. Valuable land will be put to work.

The Edible Estates project will be implemented in 9 cities in the United States over the next 3 years. An adventurous family in each town will offer their typical suburban front lawn as a working prototype for the region. They will dare to defy the sweeping continuity of their neighborhood's green lined streets. Working together with the family and additional helpers the front lawn will be removed and replaced with an edible landscape. This highly productive garden will be designed to respond to the unique characteristics of the site, the needs and desires of the owner, the community and its history and especially the local climate and geography.

Each of the 9 regional prototype gardens will be sponsored by a local art institution and developed in partnership with a horticultural or agricultural research organization. Each garden will be planted in the spring and the first season's growth will be documented and displayed as a public exhibition.

A booklet will be produced specifically for each town and distributed for free. It will communicate to residents how they may go about replacing their lawn with an Edible Estate. The booklet will include listings of local nurseries, fruits and vegetables that are recommended for the region, native plants that are edible, local businesses that may assist with the labor and maintenance, basic gardening principals and further reading resources. This information will be assembled with the help of local specialists and also be available on the internet.

With the modest gesture of reconsidering the use of our small individual private yards, Edible Estates takes on our relationship with our neighbors, the source of our food and our connection to the natural environment.

GARDENLAB

The Edible Estates project is part of the Gardenlab program, established by Fritz Haeg in 2001. With the garden as a metaphor and actual laboratory, it supports ecology based initiatives in art and design. Past projects have included the creation of a community garden and memorial lawn on the Pasadena campus of Art Center College of Design. In fall 2004 'the gardenLAb experiment', a vast convention / fair / exhibition / happening about the ecology of Los Angeles brought together the work of Los Angeles based artists, designers, scientists, filmmakers and activists. It was staged in the Art Center College of Design exhibition hall, 'The Wind Tunnel'. In summer 2005 the Edible Estates initiative to replace American front lawns with edible landscapes was initiated in the geographic center of the country, Salina, Kansas. This first of nine planned regional prototypes was sponsored by the Salina Art Center. The next edition will be established in Los Angeles in spring 2006 and followed by an exhibition in the fall. In winter 2006 Gardenlab established a permanent student run community garden on the campus of CalArts in Valencia, California. The Gardenlab program was initially funded by an Art Center faculty enrichment grant, and has since received significant support from various sources including the Durfee Foundation, Armstrong Garden Centers, Ford Motor Company, the City of Pasadena, the LEF Foundation and the Wallis Foundation.

Victory Gardens for Ron Paul

I realized today that I wanted to share some concrete things that people could do in their neighborhoods to simultaneously support Ron Paul and enrich their neighborhood. Although my focus is on the Community Gathering as that vehicle, I want to share some ideas that I hope will benefit. After I wrote this blog, I found out some other folks were on the same wavelength--I hope you will check out this website www.edibleestates.org It has excellent suggestions on how to transform your front lawn into a garden

One idea is that of a Victory Garden. What if people started digging up their front lawns and planted vegetable gardens. Or, in place of some of the flowers and shrubs, edible plants such as strawberries or blueberries were planted. Ron Paul signs reflecting the values he promotes--such as people not needing to rely on the government for everything--could be put up. The Victory Gardens would be a symbol that we want to grow locally, and shop locally--not be dependent on big companies or food stamps for our food.

I've heard it said that growing food is one of the most revolutionary thing we can do. I would add that this can help with the Ron Paul Revolution. I think this is true because of the following:

1. Growing our own food helps us to save money so we aren't so dependent on the money system. We can work less for others, and more on projects like supporting Ron Paul.

2. Growing a garden in your front yard will attract interest. Can you imagine your neighbors asking about what you are doing as you are digging up your front lawn, with your unique sign about supporting Ron Paul. And you telling them about Ron Paul and the value of growing your own food.

3. Exercise and being outdoors working in your garden will give you even more energy to work for the Ron Paul campaign. If you work barefoot, you will experience healing energy from being connected to the earth. (I read some scientific study that shows going barefoot is super healthy)

4. Eating healthy food straight from your garden will also give you more energy. And if you eat it raw, with the enzymes intact, so much the better! Growing food in your own area is so much healthier than importing it from a far--both economically and physically.

5. You will inspire others to grow gardens in their front yards. I just think that with your enthusiasm and joy that you are experiencing in having a beautiful front yard garden, you will see others joining you. If you host a community gathering in your neighborhood, one of the things you can do is have a discussion group or class about organic gardening. I can see it now--every neighborhood with beautiful vegetable gardens, fruit trees, berries, and herbs throughout the neighborhood.

6. You could expand to having a community garden and engage even more cooperation and people power.

7. You could share and trade produce with neighbors, thereby increasing good will and also perhaps even alleviate hunger. All good will that you generate makes it so that people are more receptive when you share how Ron Paul supports this revolutionary action of growing food. (Wouldn't it be great if he would talk about this issue specifically?)

Well, I just found a website that relates to this topic.

My vision: A slide show of the Community Gathering

This slide show is still in process, but I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing imperfectly. I would love your feedback. I appreciate you watching this--it is the first time I have ever done a slide show!

173 ways to build Social Capital

Here are some examples of things that can happen either at a Community Gatherings, or because of. They all simultaneously build Social Capital.

The first 144 ideas were from
The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America

Definition of Social Capital, by Robert Putnam, Author of BOWLING ALONE and BETTER TOGETHER

“The central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Social capital refers to the collective value of all "social networks" [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other (norms of reciprocity)

Social capital is built through hundreds of little and big actions we take every day. We've gotten you started with a list of nearly 150 ideas, drawn from suggestions made by many people and groups. Try some of these or try your own.

I, Patricia Mikkelson, conceptualizer of the Community Gathering, have put stars at the end of each activity to show how the Community Gathering can make these things more possible. When people show up at a weekly Community Gathering,knowing there is a free meal, childcare, transportation, and meaningful/fun activities for the whole family-- then they are going to be much more likely to be involved with all of these projects.

*means that an announcement can be made, fliers handed out, this can be listed on a newsletter, and a bulletin board, or you can just talk to a few people about getting involved, or the idea can be introduced somehow.

** means that this event can easily be organized at the gathering

***means that this activity can actually take place at the community gathering

1. Organize a social gathering to welcome a new neighbor***
2. Attend town meetings***
3. Register to vote and vote***
4. Support local merchants**
5. Volunteer your special skills to an organization***
6. Donate blood (with a friend!)*
7. Start a community garden**
8. Mentor someone of a different ethnic or religious group***
9. Surprise a new neighbor by making a favorite dinner–and include the recipe*
10. Tape record your parents' earliest recollections and share them with your children***
11. Plan a vacation with friends or family***
12. Avoid gossip***
13. Help fix someone's flat tire*
14. Organize or participate in a sports league**
15. Join a gardening club***
16. Attend home parties when invited**
17. Become an organ donor or blood marrow donor.*
18. Attend your children's athletic contests, plays and recitals*
19. Get to know your children's teachers*
20. Join the local Elks, Kiwanis, or Knights of Columbus*
21. Get involved with Brownies or Cub/Boy/Girl Scouts***
22. Start a monthly tea group***
23. Speak at or host a monthly brown bag lunch series at your local library**
24. Sing in a choir***
25. Get to know the clerks and salespeople at your local stores***
26. Attend PTA meetings*
27. Audition for community theater or volunteer to usher**
28. Give your park a weatherproof chess/checkers board***
29. Play cards with friends or neighbors***
30. Give to your local food bank***
31. Walk or bike to support a cause and meet others**
32. Employers: encourage volunteer/community groups to hold meetings on your site*
33. Volunteer in your child's classroom or chaperone a field trip*
34. Join or start a babysitting cooperative***
35. Attend school plays
36. Answer surveys when asked***
37. Businesses: invite local government officials to speak at your workplace*
38. Attend Memorial Day parades and express appreciation for others**
39. Form a local outdoor activity group

40. Participate in political campaigns***
41. Attend a local budget committee meeting*
42. Form a computer group for local senior citizens***
43. Help coach Little League or other youth sports – even if you don't have a kid playing*
44. Help run the snack bar at the Little League field*
45. Form a tool lending library with neighbors and share ladders, snow blowers, etc.**
46. Start a lunch gathering or a discussion group with co-workers **
47. Offer to rake a neighbor's yard or shovel his/her walk *
48. Start or join a carpool**
49. Employers: give employees time (e.g., 3 days per year to work on civic projects)*
50. Plan a "Walking Tour" of a local historic area**
51. Eat breakfast at a local gathering spot on Saturdays**
52. Have family dinners and read to your children*
53. Run for public office**
54. Stop and make sure the person on the side of the highway is OK*

55. Host a block party or a holiday open house **
56. Start a fix-it group–friends willing to help each other clean, paint, garden, etc.***
57. Offer to serve on a town committee*
58. Join the volunteer fire department*
59. Go to church...or temple...or walk outside with your children–talk to them about why its important***
60. If you grow tomatoes, plant extra for an lonely elder neighbor – better yet, ask him/her to teach you and others how to can the extras*
61. Ask a single diner to share your table for lunch*
62. Stand at a major intersection holding a sign for your favorite candidate**
63. Persuade a local restaurant to have a designated “meet people” table**
64. Host a potluck supper before your Town Meeting***
65. Take dance lessons with a friend***
66. Say "thanks" to public servants – police, firefighters, town clerk…***
67. Fight to keep essential local services in the downtown area–your post office, police station, school, etc.***
68. Join a nonprofit board of directors*
69. Gather a group to clean up a local park or cemetery***
70. When somebody says "government stinks," suggest they help fix it*
71. Turn off the TV and talk with friends or family***
72. Hold a neighborhood barbecue**
73. Bake cookies for new neighbors or work colleagues**
74. Plant tree seedlings along your street with neighbors and rotate care for them**

75. Volunteer at the library*
76. Form or join a bowling team**
77. Return a lost wallet or appointment book*
78. Use public transportation and start talking with those you regularly see*
79. Ask neighbors for help and reciprocate**
80. Go to a local folk or crafts festival**
81. Call an old friend*
82. Sign up for a class and meet your classmates***
83. Accept or extend an invitation***
84. Talk to your kids or parents about their day***
85. Say hello to strangers***
86. Log off and go to the park**
87. Ask a new person to join a group for a dinner or an evening***
88. Host a pot luck meal or participate in them***
89. Volunteer to drive someone*
90. Say hello when you spot an acquaintance in a store*
91. Host a movie night***
92. Exercise together or take walks with friends or family***
93. Assist with or create your town or neighborhood's newsletter***
94. Organize a neighborhood pick-up – with lawn games afterwards***
95. Collect oral histories from older town residents***
96. Join a book club discussion or get the group to discuss local issues***
97. Volunteer to deliver Meals-on-Wheels in your neighborhood*
98. Start a children’s story hour at your local library***
99. Be real. Be humble. Acknowledge others' self-worth***
100. Tell friends and family about social capital and why it matters***
101. Greet people***
102. Cut back on television***
103. Join in to help carry something heavy***

104. Plan a reunion of family, friends, or those with whom you had a special connection***
105. Take in the programs at your local library*

106. Read the local news faithfully***
107. Buy a grill and invite others over for a meal**

108. Fix it even if you didn’t break it***
109. Pick it up even if you didn’t drop it***
110. Attend a public meeting***
111. Go with friends or colleagues to a ball game (and root, root, root for the home team!)**
112. Help scrape ice off a neighbor’s car, put chains on the tires or shovel it out*
113. Hire young people for odd jobs***
114. Start a tradition***
115. Share your snow blower*
116. Help jump-start someone’s car*
117. Join a project that includes people from all walks of life***
118. Sit on your stoop*
119. Be nice when you drive*
120. Make gifts of time***
121. Buy a big hot tub
122. Volunteer at your local neighborhood school*
123. Offer to help out at your local recycling center**
124. Send a “thank you” letter to the Editor about a person or event that helped build community***
125. Raise funds for a new town clock or new town library***
126. When inspired, write personal notes to friends and neighbors***
127. Attend gallery openings*
128. Organize a town-wide yard sale***
129. Invite friends or colleagues to help with a home renovation or home building project**
130. Join or start a local mall-walking group and have coffee together afterwards**
131. Build a neighborhood playground**

132. Become a story-reader or baby-rocker at a local childcare center or neighborhood pre-school***
133. Contra dance or two-step***
134. Help kids on your street construct a lemonade stand***
135. Open the door for someone who has his or her hands full***
136. Say hi to those in elevators*
137. Invite friends to go snowshoeing, hiking, or cross-country skiing***
138. Offer to watch your neighbor’s home or apartment while they are away*
139. Organize a fitness/health group with your friends or co-workers***
140. Hang out at the town dump and chat with your neighbors as you sort your trash at the Recycling Center*
141. Take pottery classes with your children or parent(s)*
142. See if your neighbor needs anything when you run to the store*
143. Ask to see a friend’s family photos***
144. Join groups (e.g., arts, sports, religion) likely to lead to making new friends of different race or ethnicity, different social class or bridging across other dimensions ***

The following are suggestions I, Patricia, have made:

146. Start a success team and encourage each other in following your dreams***

147. Facilitate a music jam session and encourage people of all ages and stages of talent to participate***

148. Start a free geeks group and make it easy for people of all incomes to get computers**

149. Start a life-long learning center and have classes for all ages in every conceivable subject***

150. Have a dance jam where people bring their favorite music to dance to***

151. Make an effort to include in all activities people who are under served and underheard***

152. Teach a class in Non-violent communication or some other effective communication technique, and encourage people to start speaking in ways that build bridges of compassion***

153. Start a listening buddies network so that every single person in your neighborhood has number of people who can listen empathically to them in times of trouble.***

154. Organize a neighborhood-wide emergency preparedness plan using something like 3 steps to neighborhood Preparedness***

155. Start a neighborhoodlink or some similar website to connect neighbors***

156. Raise funds to help bring in a consultant who can facilitate a three day meeting to help the neighborhood create a shared vision using effective change making facilitation techniques such as Future Search or Open Space Technology***

157. Start a group to help localize the economy***

158. Organize a networking group of local business people***

159. Organize a food drive***

160. Help single parents with childcare***

161. Sponsor a 12 step group or other support group for addictions***

162. Start a mentoring/coaching network***

163. Have study groups to learn about different religions and foster a spirit of tolerance and understanding***

164. Bring people of all ages and background together for a sing along***

165. Organize a talent show where people of all levels of skill are encouraged to share their gifts***

166. Host a local mic having poetry,music, prose, comedy and drama, encouraging people of all levels of talent to participate***

167. Host conversation cafes and discuss a wide variety of topics relating to civic engagement

168. Host study circles and learn more about the important issues that effect us all

169. Learn more about the importance of civic engagement***

170. Have book studies on such books as Bowling Alone, Better Together,

171. Make a list of all the books which relate to building social capital and build a library accessible to all

172. Inspire people to pay a fee like ten dollars a month to pay a natural connector in the community to do that full time.

173. I have about 100 more ideas—no time now! (Patricia)

Description of the Community Gathering: I keep refining it

What do you think about this description? What questions come up? What are you inspired by?

A community gathering is a cross between a festival, a town hall meeting, a strategic planning session, and a school. Ideally there would be childcare, a free meal, and lots of different rooms where various activities would happen, including music jam sessions, dancing, and various support groups and classes. In the largest rooms, there would be a myriad of conversations going on about things that people care about and want to take responsibility for.

Organizers for the Community Gathering would make sure that people have the opportunity to both discuss and learn about essential things such as alternatives to money (including alternative currencies, time banking, lets system, and barter), emergency preparedness (including natural disasters, terrorism, and martial law), and become self-reliant (community gardens, alternatives to using the grid energy, and water cachement).

Another important and essential activity that would take place at Community Gatherings is political activities. Anyone who wanted to could have the opportunity to use this time and space to promote the candidate of their choice in small groups of willing people. Ron Paul supporters can take this time to work on their strategies and plans if they wish. Ron Paul supporters can also have orientations about the various options for candidates, and give objective views on the stands of all the candidates. This is also an essential time to identify and help elect government officials in every office from school board to city council to quorum court to government to senator.

Education about the issues would be a very important function. There could be a room where films could be shown—like "America, from freedom to fascism". Classes for all ages could be given about the constitution and educating people about our rights and how we can make our voices heard, and grassroots organizing.

The possibilities of what can happen at a well-organized and well-supported Community Gathering are endless. People who often do not get involved such as homeless, single parents and low income people could be offered transportation.

As people gather, cooperate, and build trust, a governing structure where every voice is heard and valued will emerge. In this atmosphere of connection and caring, where people are seeing that they have common needs, and that they don’t need to agree on everything,I believe that people will start learning to work together harmoniously. A governing structure which is minimal, and which insures people’s basic freedoms be met. As was done by our founding fathers who worked so hard to organize a very large country in a way that insured our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we in our neighborhoods will come together to organize for the same purpose.

I think that one of the weaknesses of our constitution is that it does not grant enough autonomy and rights to the neighborhood—the place where people are going to naturally care about the most. I think that if we simultaneously work to elect Ron Paul, and organize our neighborhoods, we will have a win-win situation. Even if Ron Paul does not get elected, we will have power in our neighborhoods. Ron Paul supporters will have a momentum of community service going so that if he doesn’t win, the people power to support Ron Paul can continue to work without missing a beat. Yes, we will be disappointed if Ron Paul loses. But we will have victory in saying, “We are exercising our power whether Ron Paul wins or not.”

Description of the Community Gathering: A flyer

The Community Gathering

An effective, fun way for neighbors and friends to come together to create thriving, self-reliant communities.

The biggest problem with trying to make positive change is getting people involved. The combined aspects of the Community Gathering dissolves the obstacles to participation;, stamps out hopelessness and apathy; gets people excited; and empowers people to work together for a free, just society.

The Community Gathering combines fun, food, music, conversations and child care with a special way of having a town meeting called Open Space Technology which makes it easy for everyone attending to:

*Build friendships

*Share knowledge

*Strengthen neighborhoods and communities

*Effect positive change

*Be engaged in the job of “civilization building”

Some of the many things that will happen at a Community Gathering include:

*Meetups, Time Banking co-ops, and other already existing groups can use this as their meeting space.

*A diverse group of people will have a chance to network and cooperate, building trust and connection

*A shared vision and strategy for getting neighbors’ needs met will unfold

*People are empowered to get support to follow through with their passionate goals including things like starting a community garden, getting a neighborhood emergency plan together, elect accountable political candidates, taking care of their family, getting meaningful work, feeding the hungry, and caring for the environment

*Creating communication networks and connections outside the weekly gathering

*Classes of all kinds including reading, art, languages, communication, and grassroots activism

*Fun activities including dance, music, art and games

*On going work groups to help get projects going and enlist help.

Do you want to make a huge difference in your neighborhood and world? Help create an environment where people can effectively address things that matter most to them. Start a Community Gathering in your neighborhood!

For more information, contact Patricia at community_gathering@yahoo.com

Learn more and view a slide show here or at www.myspace.com/communitygathering

More details about the strategy for Ron Paul and neighborhood

I am working on creating a clear description of the Community Gathering, an event which just about any person with a strong commitment could initiate. This community gathering brings a diverse group of people together around the common goal of helping make their neighborhood and world a better place to live.

The strategy is this: Ron Paul supporters sponsor a community gathering in every neighborhood in the country. Because the meeting is set up to help everyone achieve their worthwhile personal goals and goals for neighborhood and world betterment, there will be a space for Ron Paul supporters to gather. People will come and benefit from all the networking and support, and they will also be exposed directly or indirectly to the Ron Paul message if they attend the gathering.

I have been working on the idea of focusing on neighborhood betterment for the past three years. I notice a huge trend in individuals, non-profits, churches, businesses and city governments focusing on supporting neighborhoods in their efforts to improve quality of life. There is a strong movement and great infrastructure where many neighborhoods have neighborhood associations.

When I decided to put all my energy towards supporting Ron Paul for president, I started thinking about how my ideas for having Community Gatherings could help that cause. I feel hopeful that a Community Gathering will encourage the participation of a high percentage of the people in the neighborhood, including busy folks like business people; church members; government officials and families, as well as people who are often on the fringes like single mothers, minorities, and welfare folks.

The idea is that if we can create a weekly event that builds momentum because it is so fulfilling, useful, unifying, and even fun, within a few months hundreds of people will be attending these gatherings in every neighborhood in the USA. This would equate to millions over all. And even those who don’t attend will be connected through newsletter, telephone tree, and word of mouth. All will know that the coordinators are Ron Paul supporters, thus giving people a feel for who Ron Paul is. These community gatherings will incorporate the values of liberty for all.

I hope that you will read the description below. I welcome all feedback. Perhaps this could be turned into a wiki so people could add ideas. The following description could be the beginning of a handbook so that anyone could start of Community Gathering. I am going to start a yahoo group: send an email to communitygatherings-subscribe@yahoo.com

I really want to do this full time, and I am not working at any paid jobs right now--so if you would like to donate to me to support me in doing this full time, I would appreciate it.

Why Ron Paul supports neighborhoods

Although Ron Paul has not specifically endorsed neighborhood enrichment activities, over and over again I hear him talking about how he believes in the power of the people to make positive changes in their lives when they have freedom to do so. I plan on doing research on what Ron Paul has said that I relates to people working in their own communities to make a difference. I do know that over and over again he says that we should not rely on the government to take care of us from cradle to grave. That is not what our founding fathers wanted. I believe they were wise in their concern. When the government takes over many of the duties that families and communities used to fulfill, not only are they more inefficient, but they also require people receiving the handouts to give up a lot of freedom.

I believe that if Ron Paul supporters would serve in their own neighborhoods in ways that also help them to gain support for Ron Paul, two things will happen. One, a grassroots effort will create the changes that Ron Paul supporters want to happen. Two, people will be drawn to Ron Paul because they will see that Ron Paul supporters aren't depending on their candidate of choice to take care of them--but they are already taking care of themselves. Three, Ron Paul supporters tend to feel connected because of this common cause--and they can work together even more effectively on the campaign, as well as helping each other in cooperating on various levels.

Can you imagine what might happen if Ron Paul supporters gathered every week at a Community Gathering, a cross between a family-friendly festival, a town meeting, a family reunion, think tank, a learning center and a strategic planning session. You can learn more about how this works and why I think it will be a way to enhance the people power generated now by the Ron Paul revolution, and how it can continue even after the election: Community Gatherings: helping neighborhoods become free, thriving, self-reliant communities.

I want to work full time on promoting community gatherings and support Ron Paul's campaign. I am hoping that there will be a Community Gathering in every neighborhood. Any donations you give will help me to pay for my expenses and also keep me from having to work at jobs that are unrelated to my passion. Thanks for reading this!