It is exciting to see people pull together in the face of the Haiti crisis. Don't get me wrong, I am glad we aren't sitting back globally and leaving Haiti to itself, but why is it exciting? Maybe amidst all our back-patting, we should also consider the state Haiti was in before a natural disaster made us all sit up and take notice. It was in the kind of poverty that many cultures around the world still exist in. It shouldn't be exciting to see people pull together, it should be the norm. I know, I know, I am an idealist. Cynicism hasn't quite taken root like some people think it should in me. But wouldn't it be neat if all this helpfulness was commonplace?
What if we were actually neighborly to our neighbors? What if we actually spread around all the excess so everyone had some? What if we all swallowed our pride enough to let someone else help us? As I get ready to start planning this years Love Cranbrook Day, I have been reading about other people's approach to changing the perception of community. This is one of my favorites.
What would happen if we all made a few adjustments to the way we do buissness, do our shopping, do our yardwork. Could we start a revolution of creative community? Could we morph a culture of extravagance into a culture of extravagant love?
1 comment:
I love the cafe idea. I just think that once people figure out how the cafe works, no one in our North American Culture would go to it. We're too selfishly consumeristic. Or maybe that's just the balance of my cynicism to your idealism. I think that's why we make the best of friends. If you opened one, I would come to your cafe and get whatever the person in front of me ordered.
I love you
Post a Comment