This commentary is by Jeremy Rathbun of Middlebury.
I think it’s plain to say we are in trouble here. I’m not even going to get into the left/right politics of it all. I think every Vermonter would have a hard time looking around these days and saying “yup, things are just fine, nothing to worry about here”
The problems that we face in the aggregate, are overwhelming. There is a theory, that the human mind was not designed to absorb information on the level we are receiving it, via our iPhones, streaming platforms, Facebook, etc. That this constant stream of information has deeply affected us, in ways we don’t truly understand. That it has made us callous. That it had made us mean. That it has turned us into a nation of cheap punks, who no longer have the empathy to care for those around us, but only the desire to one up and score points on each other.
Although clearly there has been an effect, I say this is defeatist talk. Let us remember that television was supposed to be great destroyer of civilization, yet somehow, we figured that out. Remember that Elvis was on Ed Sullivan, and yet the sun came up in the morning. We will, in time, figure this out as well.
But it is clear we are a bit off course. We have, in a sense, lost our way. In our quest to become more and more connected, the opposite has happened, we have become, in the real world, less and less. In a desire to build an online community, we have neglected the real one.
But the good news is the solution is right in front of us, and available to all. It is rebuilding the links and bonds that once fostered our communities through some of their darkest times. It is getting off our couches, getting off our phones, and getting involved.
In the town of Middlebury, where I live, there are 14 openings for volunteers for everything from the Regional Planning Commission, to the Development Review Board, to the Sports Commission. Stop reading this for a second and think, what could I bring to one of these boards, what do I have to offer? What skills could I use to help my community in some small way?
What other things could I do? Does my neighborhood need a community garden? Does my union need a shop steward? Does the old timer at the end of the block need a little help moving firewood?
As Jack Kennedy said on a cold morning in January some years ago “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
This simple message once motivated a nation, but have we forgotten so soon?
We all need to think about this. We need to take a break from posting our rage on Facebook and ask ourselves, what skills do I have that can help my community, my neighbors, my friends, my own family? Who is hurt, who is scared, and who needs help?
The division in this country is unlike anything we have seen since the Civil War, and I think it’s clear now no magic politician is coming to save us. There are no more lifeboats my friends, the rich and powerful jumped in those and rowed away a long time ago. We either start working the bilge pumps or we are all going down on this ship together.
I think of another quote, from a poet named Dylan Thomas. Mr. Thomas asked us to “rage against the dying of the light” And that is what we need. But a righteous rage. An anger that things are getting worse instead of better. We can make this country rise to its greatest aspirations rather than sink to its greatest fears, but the only way to do that is block by block, community by community, town by town.
Sometimes it is the small things, the little actions, that in the end turn out to have ramifications far beyond their scope. Sometimes it is the small gesture that turns out to be the most important thing of all.
For it is these small actions, these simple everyday kindnesses and support of others in our community, support for the community as a whole, that create the bonds that bring us together. That create the apparatus that allows us, together, to deal with the big things.
And so I ask you my friends and neighbors, to take a moment, and give yourself a chance to hope, really hope, for a better tomorrow. Think of what you could offer those around you, to make their lives, and your community, better.
Then figure out what small part you can do to make that a reality, and get out there and do it.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Jeremy Rathbun: The power of community.