A Successful Community Gathering: We did it!

After so much dreaming and thinking and planning, I decided with the encouragement of a friend, to just do it! Just have a Community Gathering in a park, and invite our friends and neighbors. Everything that I wanted to happen took place. I was especially pleased that Ron Paul supporters showed up and really inspired people in the course of natural conversations to think about Ron Paul's message more deeply. People who thought they would never consider voting for a Republican now were open. One person said she was 90% sure she would support Ron Paul. Just 3 weeks ago she said she never would consider a candidate who did not have some solution to global warming.

I wanted to create an environment that was fun, safe, and encouraging networking. I wanted people to feel free to ask for what they were needing, and find meaningful connections. I noticed that the thirty or so people who attended had vibrant conversations. Many told me that they really enjoyed it, and made some contacts which were very important. I continue to hear how this gathering contributed to people's well being. It was very simple, and not very structured. But something about the intention to network and support each other made it more than a party.

I see so much more potential, and I look forward to finetuning and expanding the Community Gathering. I sense that if people met regularly, a momentum will form. I think that Ron Paul supporters would find this to be a rich and fertile ground to share the message of freedom, and to connect with similar minded people. Democrats and Greens will soon realize that we all want the same thing.

I was very excited to hear someone say to me, "I am a democrat, and never thought of voting for a Republican. But when I saw other Ron Paul supporters who seemed like they were on the same wavelength as I am, this made me think more. I am going to do some research on him." I had not taken the opportunity to even talk to this person before today about Ron Paul--we don't talk often--but I was happy that indirectly she was opening up to Ron Paul.

I really think that if every Ron Paul supporter would host such community gatherings for their friends and neighbors, and provided a nurturing place where they were clear that you care about them (not just their vote!), people of all political parties and no political parties will sit up and take notice.

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. ;-)

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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?