CO-OPS AND MUTUAL AID PROJECTS

Below you will find a link to a number of mutual aid projects that were undertaken in Ithaca, New York.

I am posting them here to give an idea of the kind of projects that a number of families in a community can undertake in order to make life more fun, more social, more economical, more efficient, to increase the number of services available in their communities and, most of all, to become more INDEPENDENT of elected officials by working together.

I cannot stress how detrimental the mentality of putting trust in politicians and government bodies to do for us that which we can do for ourselves is.

Politicians are parasites. They act at the behest of the rich, as is commonly known but also commonly accepted as a "fact of life". It need not be. They, like all parasites, weaken the host whose body they invade -in this case, the body of the citizenry. But the truth of the matter is, people abnegate their power and independence more than politicians arrogate them.

Where there are politicians there is no true democracy. There is only plutocracy. "Representative democracy" is not democracy at all. Only direct democracy, where people meet face-to-face and hammer out the issues that face all of us, eat out of a communal pot and whose destinies are tied one to the other is democracy that deserves the name. We are now living a farce – a very dangerous farce, a very dangerous self-delusion.

Of course, that abnegation is encouraged by politicians and people are made to feel weak and helpless. How many times and in how many ways, either directly or by implication, have you been called "weak" and "little" by politicians and by the press? Does the phrase "Joe Citizen" ring a bell and arouse a feeling of being put down? Those are psychological ploys designed to make you feel dependent and helpless. The message is ubiquitous and repetitive. But as Eleanor Roosevelt said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." She also said: "If someone betrays you once, it's their fault; if they betray you twice, it's your fault." How many times have we been betrayed by politicians? Whose fault is it by this time?

There is power, and safety, in numbers. That is where co-ops and mutual aid programs come in.

People simply get together and, as a group on a rotating basis, supply one another with their everyday needs.

Vegetarian and health food co-ops are very popular, as I'm sure you know. People buy in bulk together, prepare the food together and dine together - all in a communal atmosphere of fun and conviviality.

But co-ops and mutual aid projects can do so much more than that.

A few ideas are to be found on the link below. They were undertaken in Itaca, New York; but with a little bit of tweaking they can be adapted to the needs of your community.

Most of all, co-ops and mutual aid programs will accustom people to working in solidarity one for all and all for one.

Those programmes confer a feeling of strength and mutual reliance without dependency.

They will wean the community from the unhealthy dependence upon politicians who, of every stripe and every party, have proven without exception that they cannot and will not improve matters.

We are responsible for one another. Only then can we flourish. Only then can we feel secure. Only then can we become fully adult and actualize our capacities. We become whole and independent individuals when we act with others in solidarity. We must be whole and strong in order to give and the giving makes us strong.

Please take a look at the programmes outlined on the link below.

One of them is not relevant to those who live in societies that have instituted socialized medicine. Most of the members on this list do not enjoy socialized medicine and the idea of a group working together to obtain insurance for all is a terrific one.

These programs should gradually supplant charities. In this way everyone is giving and everyone receiving. Living this way we all give and receive in dignity and in bounty.

Gradually, these programs will lead us in the direction of comprehensive mutual sufficiency that will phase out all need for politicians.

http://tinyurl.com/2xtwfj

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com