| Wanted: A Venue for Fruitful Community Dialogue |
| Articles - Life In BV |
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by: Allison Abdelnour  I myself am quite guilty of rarely, if ever, having conversations with folks who challenge me beyond my thought comfort zone. I am also not a big fan of the idea of standing up in front of a crowd of people who will latch on to my every word to assist them in determining whether I am friend or foe. Certainly this is freedom of speech in one of its most primal forms and I so deeply hope that we are always granted the privilege. It’s just that I am starting to think that we should try to have some additional venues in which we can constructively exchange our thoughts with one another. I recently started reading a book called Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben. With every page I have turned so far, I am prompted to consider a vast array of questions and ideas of how the concepts presented relate to our local Buena Vista community. The book has covered an intriguing number of topics, which, at first glance, one may not associate as being connected. However, the book laces them together in very compelling ways. Ideas of localized food economy, quality of life and the surprising variables that impact your daily experience, the differences between wanting more and wanting better, and even the significance behind having a locally owned and operated radio station - just to name a few. So, how does all of this relate to our local community? The experience of reading this book coupled with my visit to the town meeting has made it apparent to me that we all need to take more responsibility in educating ourselves so that whatever views we do have are actually backed with appropriate facts. We need to be asking questions of each other such as what do we want our town to be like in 20 years from now, say, in the best of circumstances? What might we want our town to be like in 20 years if some very challenging circumstances arise and what might those challenges be? How about 50 or 100 years from now, and how about next month? What do we need to be doing today to act upon these ideas? It is fairly easy to give a quick response to those questions, but it is not easy to give a highly thoughtful and knowledgeable response. The more educated we are about our world and our community the wiser and more effective our decision-making will be. There are already many wonderful ways that people gather together in our community to celebrate art, religion, history, culture… you name it. I propose that we, as a community, start to gather together in non-confrontational venues for more conversation about our home and our future so that we can approach what we want with more vision and confidence. As neighbors we should help each other to become educated on upcoming issues that face our world and ultimately our small town and to help each other progress from merely being opinionated about something to instead having flexible, educated perspectives on issues. Ultimately, I believe that we really all want the same thing – clean air and water, healthy families, a vibrant community, and a thriving economy… it is just a matter of figuring out how to get there and working to foresee some of the obstacles that could prevent us from achieving our vision. I do not personally have enough background knowledge with regards to many of the topics presented in McKibben’s book to be able to fluently understand how they relate to our hometown community, but I’d love to expand my understanding with the help of those around me. I know that there are many other books, documentaries, and speakers out there that can contribute tremendously to our collective knowledge as a community. I also know that not everybody who reads this particular book will agree with all that is within its pages. I do, however, think that the discussion of its contents may be a great platform on which to start to understand the perspectives of those around us. If you have the time, please come to the Community Room at Mother’s Neighborhood Bistro on Thursday, October 18th at 6:30 pm for a community conversation based on ideas presented in the book, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben. Copies of the book are available for lending through the South Main office and for purchase online. Having read the book is not required but reading some portion of it is recommended. Please consider bringing themes and questions to discuss. All opposed and in favor views are welcome! Each month South Main sends out an eUpdate which features new articles for and about the local Buena Vista community. To subscribe, please visit our contact us page. |
