It seems we have no shortage of armchair quarterbacks telling readers what went wrong or right with the election. Their analyses seem centered around the we/they. We are right; they are wrong. Do you find yourself wondering if there is anything — other than mutual animosity — that people hold in common across the political spectrum?
There is. Psychologist and philosopher Abraham Maslow summed it up in his hierarchy of needs. All human motivations can be placed on a continuum ranging from survival essentials to self-actualization with achieving the former crucial to even approaching the latter.
The survival basics come first. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Teachers see every day how empty bellies undermine children’s potential and achievement. Almost all of us have experienced how sleep deprivation hinders us from being all that we can be. For homeless families otherwise routine activities — staying clean, doing homework — can become major challenges.
Not far above basics come the yearnings of the heart. We need to belong and to have our lives matter. We live in an increasingly fragmented society. Neighborhoods are segregated by race and relative degree of financial security. The institutions that used to bring people together for the common good seem to be going the way of the passenger pigeon.
Beloved artist Norman Rockwell put a very American spin on the subject of needs. Based on the words of then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, he painted what he considered essential: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The latter two are becoming out of reach for an increasing number of us. Grass-roots movements can help us achieve the basics Maslow and Rockwell championed and a shared sense of community.
I live in a trailer park that used to be privately owned. When the owner put the land up for sale, a lot of folks were in jeopardy, particularly low-income people with older mobile homes. But we didn’t just hope for the best. We came together to buy the place and become a cooperative. Cooperatives aren’t just for housing; worker-owned businesses also create potential for job dignity, stability and security.
The Brewer-based Food AND Medicine, named by the belief that no one should have to choose between the two, put together 1,300 Thanksgiving baskets before the holiday. Their theme was solidarity, not charity. They paid local farmers fair prices and channeled their offerings through local groups, empowering food growers and organizations as well as recipients. The warm camaraderie they offered volunteers as the baskets were filled made it impossible to feel like an outsider.
During the growing season, Orono Community Garden provides free organic produce to low-income “vintage” citizens. We gardeners nourish our families with excess veggies, make very close friends and learn skills. Some of our number have gained agriculture-related jobs. Other communal gardens help shelters, food pantries and soup kitchens. School gardens help students eat healthier foods and learn the joy of working in the earth.
People who are good with their hands are highly valued. Weatherization projects help lower the demand for fossil fuels, while keeping residences comfortably warm. Safety alterations help medically fragile older people stay in their homes and communities rather than being shunted into institutions.
The Black Bear Exchange helps University of Maine students, many of whom are single parents, stretch their meager budgets by providing dietary staples. Some of their funds come from a huge yearly yard sale that also provides bargains for the not so affluent and keeps the goods abandoned by college students out of landfills. At the K-12 level, backpack and summer feeding programs help keep bellies full even when school is not in session.
I am not asking you to abandon your political beliefs any more than I will. I am terrified of a Trump presidency, and I will peacefully exercise my First Amendment rights to protest on behalf of people who I believe are in danger and our rapidly deteriorating environment. I’m asking you, as Christmas draws near, to please ask yourself two questions. What are my community’s needs? What can I do to help? We all may find that doing good leads to feeling good and to creating grass-roots communities that can lead to genuine dialogue and helping one another where we live in the here and now.
Julia Hathaway of Veazie is a writer, community activist and proud mother of three. She is taking up the interests she put on the back burner for parenting and serving on a school committee.