We no longer care who's behind the curtain because we're in charge of our own lives now.
The Good News is people are realizing We're On Our Own and starting to take action accordingly.
This article describes how people in one low-income county are localizing self-reliance rather than remain dependent on government subsidies.
The War on Poverty Failed Them--and They're No Longer Waiting For Help (wsj.com, paywalled)
Federal money and projects have come and gone so many times that McDowell County locals have little faith in the government to restore their fortunes; 'We're on our own.'
Here in the heart of America's War on Poverty, some two-thirds of households with children still get food stamps, among the nation's highest rates, and the estimated median household income hovers around $35,000. Nonfarm employment has plummeted 78% since 1975, according to data compiled by West Virginia University economist John Deskins, as the coal that once powered this rugged place is now mostly mined with machines, if at all, and no other industry has replaced it. The county has lost 67% of its residents over those years, the largest drop in West Virginia, its population dwindling from just over 51,000 to roughly 17,000.
With little faith left in government to break the cycle of poverty, those who remain say it'ss up to them to forge a brighter economic path.
"We're on our own," said Jason Tartt. "Nobody's coming down here to save us."
Tartt, the grandson of coal miners, is teaching locals, including retired miners and those recovering from opioid addiction, how to farm the forested hillsides. Down the winding, two-lane roads that connect communities, a pastor organizes bottled-water drives for neighbors whose tap water is undrinkable, while the local utility patches together funding for long-term solutions. A tiny, former coal town is trying to transform a shuttered Walmart into a new factory it hopes will jolt the local economy.
Their efforts are small in comparison to the government programs that have sought to revive McDowell County, and can't make up for the prosperity that slipped away when the coal companies left. But they are spurring hope for renewal in some places, driven by one of the few constants here: resilience.
Nobody includes not just the federal government; it also includes Corporate America. Walmart pulls the plug on under-performing stores regardless of their local importance, and the rest of Corporate America is equally focused on next quarter's profits.
Dependence breeds helplessness, passivity, addiction and the decay of community. There are alternatives. Those seeking to maintain the status quo dismiss alternatives that don't require Wall Street, federal monies and Corporate America ownership because those institutions are buttering their bread.
But out in the real world, there are alternatives--underfunded, dismissed as impractical, etc., but real nonetheless, for example:
Regenerative Farmers of America (6:19 minutes) (via Chad D.)
As I observe in my book on
Self-Reliance in the 21st Century, we all have to start somewhere, and as the Chinese saying put it, the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. (A thousand li in the original, of course.)
Self-reliance sounds like an individual journey, but it's fundamentally a community effort as no one person can fulfill every function. As the number of people participating expands, the self-reliance of each participant expands, too.
Those working on self-reliance tend to lead by example. Get the work done, share the results, keep moving forward. There's no jetting around to meetings and conferences, just do the work on the ground. Get it done, learn from mistakes and from others' experiences, experiment to identify what works best in local conditions.
When we realize we really are on our own, things change for the better. We start taking full responsibility for our health, work, goals and integrity. We start thinking through Plans A, B, and if things unravel, Plan C. We lose interest in addictive technologies and substances and other hindrances. We start noticing improvements and taking well-earned pride in them.
We no longer care who's behind the curtain because we're in charge of our own lives now.
Podcasts:
Insane Financial Imbalances and a Social Revolution (36:34 min)
Ultra-Processed Life: Unhealthy, Addictive, Deranging, Artificial (36 min)
My new book Investing In Revolution is available at a 10% discount ($18 for the paperback, $24 for the hardcover and $8.95 for the ebook edition).
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