gordonparnell - The Transformation of Poverty

Introduction

Never in history have the lives of so many been controlled by so few. And with poverty, inequality and violence on the rise throughout the world, this has proved a disastrous and flawed strategy. Millions of innocents have died already, and the lives and living standards of millions more are at risk.; The Industrial Revolution created massive quantities of wealth and resources, but also violence and inequality on a grand scale; the Digital Revolution gave us automation and global communications, and even greater inequality. We now have a choice, we can continue along this path of inequality and violence, or we can choose instead, to create a world of cooperation, equality and peace.; One outcome of the global integration of communications and trade is every man, woman and child on the planet is connected to a truly global community. More than ever before, the quality of life and security of each and every person on the planet depends on the efforts and cooperation of everyone else. We can continue to live in fear and ignorance of each other, or we can step forward to embrace and celebrate the wonderful richness and diversity of peoples throughout the world. It is a choice between fear and cooperation.
If you look around the world, there is a clear trend toward global issues, ever greater numbers of people are coming together to express themselves and to demonstrate shared values, especially around human rights issues, musical events and protests. Inspired by the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., we are seeing the first signs of a non-violent, community-based revolution in cooperation and shared values, empowered by global communication and music. Each and every one of us has a part to play, literally.
: While I prefer the view from the top, it wasn't until I arrived at the bottom, that I was sufficiently motivated to share my thoughts on what I believe is the start of a Global Revolution in Music and Cooperation. And what better place to start such a revolution than with the Transformation of Poverty. A global issue that is at the heart of the world's most pressing problems, including starvation and terrorism.
My guide to the Transformation of Poverty is organized into three sections. Part One is a bottom-up view of the root causes of poverty. Part Two is an invitation to participation and cooperative action; and Part Three details specific legal and practical issues that will transform poverty and empower communities.

Most importantly, this document is a call to action. Your ideas, suggestions and participation are essential if we are going to get this Global Revolution of Music and Cooperation off to a good start. Once started, there will be no stopping it!
: Part One – The Causes of Poverty; The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists
who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.: Martin Luther King Jr., "Strength to Love"

My Motivation

A nonconformist and adventurer at heart, I have enjoyed a rich and wonderful life as a father, expatriate, software developer, KwiKat inventor, and an actor and director of community theater. Moving from one adventure to the next, I rarely gave a second thought to mundane issues of life like mortgages, commuting, poverty or politics—until one day, I found myself in Vancouver, broke and homeless; with no choice but to focus my considerable energies on the difficulties and possibilities of creating a life from nothing.

And as I was soon to discover, an absurdly difficult task compared to Mexico where there is a robust informal or “cash” economy, or even the United States where the spirit of freedom still prevails. But alas, fifteen years living abroad was not entirely wasted on me, and in fact has provided me with a rich multi-cultural education and a unique perspective.

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced,
where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them,
neither persons nor property will be safe.: Frederick Douglass (1817 - 1895), Speech, April 1886

Les Miserables

The impetus for me to write this guide came from my experiences and frustrations living in Vancouver's Downtown EastSide (DTES), a veritable zoo of inhumanity and degradation. Les Miserables, the poor unfortunates living there are far more interesting, colorful and desperate than I could ever have imagined.

In a lifetime of travels, including tin-shack slums in Mexico, I have never seen such squalor, desperation and humiliation. Most of the residents in the DTES are addicted to drugs or bad choices, some have severe psychological problems, and there is no shortage of folks with career-ending disabilities and disfigurements. I must admit, having experienced both the lunatics and their asylum keepers, I am far more comfortable sharing laughs with those homeless castaways than I am with the condescending social workers who manage the shelters and service programs.

When a government robs from Peter to pay Paul,

they can always count on support from Paul.

George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

After countless hours waiting in lines for meals, used clothing and shelter it strikes me that the one thing the homeless have in common is they all come from someplace else. Every single homeless person used to have a life that worked, a place to live, a job, a family to care for. Now they have indifference, addictions and a grim future; they have become the dregs of society, stripped of all dignity and hope. What these people need is a good hug!

Freedom is not worth having

if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

Common Addictions

Now I know some people will say that these people deserve to be where they are because they made bad choices, they are addicts or whatever. But these people, every person a different story, can no more help being who they are, than you can help being who you are. As anyone familiar with biochemistry or who has seen the movie, What the Bleep do we Know will attest, we are all addicted to the behaviors that make us who we are.

Good, bad, leaders or victims, we are all addicted to being who we are. If you doubt this is true, just look at how hard it is to make a substantial behavioral change in your life. There is a very good reason why there are thousands of self-help books for sale out there; diet books, stop smoking programs, change-your-life seminars; it is very difficult to change who you are, and almost impossible to do so by yourself.

Every form of addiction is bad,
no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.: Carl Jung (1875 - 1961)

I like to say, you might get to choose your environment, but to a remarkable degree that environment and especially the people in your life shape your identity, how you feel about yourself and your life. Change your friends, change your life, is a pith statement that rings true.

Constructive Steps

Getting back to my point about everyone in the DTES coming from someplace else. I do NOT buy the argument that we need to create more permanent housing in the DTES for the homeless. What they and we do need is less poverty and more access to opportunity; money, education and community. People are stuck in the DTES shelters because they can not afford to move elsewhere; they are unable to return to the productive lifestyles they enjoyed before they became homeless. There is no step up for them; Crack-whore is not a career move.

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

The Tip of the Iceberg

In my opinion, homelessness is a telling social indicator of a much larger problem and that is widespread poverty: a scarcity of health care, material goods and opportunity. When we as a community constructively address the issues of improving access to health care, the equitable distribution of material goods and creating access to educational opportunities then the homeless problem will cease to exist.

What is so damning and frustrating about poverty in this country is that there is no real shortage of health care services, material goods or educational programs, it's just that fewer and fewer people have access to them. As more and more people are discovering, payday loans and unpaid credit card balances are not just the domain of the stupid and lazy.

A Question of Perspective

The good news is we don't need to create more of anything, as a country we are rich beyond measure, what is missing is the will to face the fact that; the actual choice we have before us today is between living in scarcity (rationed services, living vicariously from paycheck-to-paycheck) and enjoying the rich shared experience of an abundance of good health, a surplus of material goods, opportunity and a profound sense of cooperation and community.

Abundance is, in large part, an attitude.: Sue Patton Thoele

As a practical matter, would you rather pay the poverty machine $75,000 a year to keep an destitute homeless person living on the streets, as we do now; or, would you be willing to spend just $35,000 to have that same person gainfully employed, enjoying life and paying taxes? This is the choice taxpayers have before them; the poor bastard, sleeping in alleys and strung out on drugs has no choice at all.

Choose Your Weapon

There are two basic strategies or structural approaches to managing almost any behavioral issue:

You can punish the offender after the behavior or offense has occurred.

This is the traditional punishment structure applied to crime, poverty and drug use, and is very popular with the police and other government employees whose paycheck depends on having the offense continue. It is simple mathematics, the bigger the problem, the bigger the paycheck.

It is hard to get a man to understand something

when his job depends on not understanding it.

Upton Sinclair (1878 - 1968)

It is perfectly obvious that with our prisons overflowing and the ranks of the homeless multiplying, the current punish the offender structure has been completely ineffective in controlling drug abuse, eliminating poverty or curing any other social ill; for example, dangerous driving or obesity. And now for the bad news; the current punishment structure has caused more and worse problems than the “problems” they claim to address. Things are getting worse, not better.

Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived.: Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Responsibility and Death

Punishment, through rationing, violence and incarceration of the poor and defenseless for a variety of ‘wrong behaviors’, is the greatest unpunished crime in the world today. Government sanctioned violence is never justified and can not be tolerated in a world where all people are equal. Look around the world and in your own back yard at the man-made violence and suffering inflicted upon refugees, the homeless, the starving, the poverty stricken, not to mention millions of children who die needlessly every year from disease and starvation. These are all man-made catastrophes to which no person or government agency is held to account.

When you think of the long and gloomy history of man,
you will find more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience
than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.: C. P. Snow (1905 - 1980)

What Does Work

2. You educate and encourage people to behave in a more sustainable and responsible fashion.

Simplistic as it might sound, this is really just a question of what kind of world do you want to live in, one of scarcity (where people are allowed to die in the streets and services are rationed), or a world of abundance where there is enough for us all to share and celebrate in the wonder and magic of life.

Which ever context we choose to live by, it's the same world, a world of abundance just happens to cost less and deliver more. We have a choice.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.: Margaret Mead

We must start somewhere, and I suggest we must focus our energies on five main contributors to poverty if we are to transform the current ineffective punishment structure into a proactive, pro-people structure that promotes accountability, empowerment and equality. The results we can expect are a decrease in crime, an increase in disposable income and education and a decrease in drug abuse and antisocial behavior in our communities. In short, the transformation of poverty.

Four Elements of Poverty Transformed

1. De-Criminalize Recreational Drugs

Eliminate the flow of billions of dollars used to finance the violence and corruption associated with illegal drug gangs and their government counterparts
Lower the cost of recreational drugs, a massive informal tax paid directly to criminals
Stop the criminalization of a specific group of recreational drug users
Reduce drug abuse, especially crack, alcohol and anti-depressants

2. Reduce and Simplify Taxation

Lower barriers to employment and education
Promote healthy lifestyles and cooperation
Lower tax rates on the poor
Eliminate subsidies, monopolies, and artificially high prices

3. Universal Health Care

Healthy people are productive people

Must include dental, prescription drugs and eye care

Encourage, prevention, healthy living and recreation

Money must not be a factor in seeking medical attention

4. Universal Access to Shelter and Opportunity

There can be no dignity or contribution without the basics of life: food, shelter, clothing and meaningful work or education
Eliminate the free lunch mentality of government hand-outs
Productivity and a sense of belonging come from work, study and play
This is the end of homelessness as we know it

Part Two – The Power of Community

The Global Language of Action

No question, it will take an extraordinary well coordinated community effort; an unprecedented demonstration of unity and purpose to create the foundation for a new age of opportunity, cooperation, abundance and equality. Make no mistake, this is about creating a golden age of self-expression, music, cooperation and opportunity.

So what magical force could possibly generate the level of popular support necessary to bring about such a global transformation? The only truly global language we have: Music.

Rhythm is a way to release tension and emotion,

express yourself musically, get in touch with your life rhythms,

make relations with each other,

connect with and express your spirit,

create a deeper relationship with the earth and nature,

and create and strengthen community while celebrating life,

the greatest gift of all.

Arthur Hull,

Drum Circle Spirit

And it all begins with people like you who are willing to raise their voices, standing together with your brothers and sisters to transform a greedy and selfish world that has for too long relied on a lack of cooperation and indifference to perpetuate the status quo of scarcity, violence, privilege and inequality.

The universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession.: Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

An Invitation

If you can consider yourself a member of any of the following communities, and truly want to make a difference in the world in which you live, then consider this your personal invitation to get into action, raise your voice and become a part of creating a new world order.

The pro-marijuana movement
Anti-poverty and homeless advocates
People who feels they pay too much in tax or are dissatisfied how tax dollars are being wasted
Supporters of universal access to health care, education and work

If you want to end war and stuff you gotta sing loud.

Arlo Guthrie

Songs and Anthems, a Call to Action

Now, back to the music. Put your thinking caps on, we need songs (anthems) that everyone can not only sing along with, but play along with too—not unlike a drum circle but larger, much larger using basic musical instruments like drums,dumpsters, pails, pots, silverware, tins, bottles, plates, sticks, tubes and cups. We need songs to represent each of the communities listed above.

When the momentous day arrives (Labor Day would be an option), people from all five communities will join together and share in the experience of cooperation by performing these songs. The songs and lyrics which will be posted on the Internet ahead of time, so expect spontaneous rehearsals where ever people congregate. I can't stress enough the importance of this shared experience of participation and cooperation that provides the connection between people who would otherwise be strangers. Shared music connects like nothing else.

Church and civic choirs and professional musicians could provide tremendous leadership in the performing of these songs. Here are some songs (along with the artists I know) that I think have good potential, especially with updated lyrics and a strong beat, call and response would be effective:

Sixteen Tons (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
King of the Road (Roger Miller)
Michael (Pete Seeger)
If I had a Hammer (Pete Seeger)
When the Saints (Pete Seeger)
On Top of Old Smoky (Pete Seeger)
Where have all the Flowers Gone (Kingston Trio)
This Land is Your Land (Kingston Trio)
The Battle Hymn of the Republic (Kingston Trio)
Outside a Small Circle of Friends (Phil Ochs)
Universal Soldier (Phil Ochs)
The Asshole Song (Jimmy Buffet)
Turn, Turn, Turn (The Birds)
Marijuana (Country Joe and the Fish)
Vietnam (Country Joe and the Fish)
Four Strong Winds (Bob Dylan)
Imagine (John Lennon)
Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon)
Yellow Submarine (Beatles)
Just Can't Get Enough (Depeche Mode)
The Happy Boy Song (???)
Here Comes Santa Claus (???)
Always look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python)
The Galaxy Song (Monty Python)

On this extraordinary day when tens of thousands of people like yourself, in cities across the nation join together to experience the power of harmony, community and cooperation that very few people have ever experienced. In addition to creating magic for everyone present, it will be a pivotal day in the history of democracy and community. This is civic empowerment on a grand scale. We should attract at least 100,000 musicians to Stanley Park in Vancouver. Imagine!

Whether you realize it or not, we are engaging in a cultural revolution.

We are doing what our political counterparts are not.

We are bringing people from all levels of life together.

That's the wonderful things and drumming.

Babatunde Olatunji

So it is through your participation in what will become a series of massive, non-violent musical protests that we will create a new sense of purpose, cooperation and community; exactly the experience needed to overcome the current state of inertia and sense of helplessness that pervades a world long dominated by separation, violence and scarcity.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

Separation and Shared Experience

Poverty and scarcity (of material goods and information) has always been a powerful and deadly tool for preventing like-minded people from building communities and consensus, and discouraging civic participation. Music is that magical binding force that will disappear this feeling of can't make a difference.

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part

in affairs which properly concern them.

Paul Valery (1871 – 1945)

The creation of music provides an empowering and emotional experience that binds us all into a cohesive and unstoppable global force for cooperation, community and power. Welcome to the evolution of mankind!

Part Three – A World Transformed

Practical Matters

At its core, the transformation of poverty is really about creating a world that honors who we are as individuals, rewards responsible behavior and contribution, encourages education and self-expression, and brings people together in the spirit of community and cooperation.

So let's have a look at five areas that are ripe for transformation and would make a huge difference in the quality of life and prosperity of the communities in which we live and the world in general. These areas are: recreational drugs, taxation, universal health care, universal access to opportunity, and government sanctioned violence and corruption.

What is the use of a house
if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?: Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862); 1. De-Criminalize Marijuana

A law is something which must have a moral basis,
so that there is an inner compelling force for every citizen to obey.: Chaim Weizmann (1874 - 1952)

This will drastically reduce the violence and corruption associated with local drug gangs as well as international drug cartels and terrorists. It is simply irresponsible to be sending untold billions of our hard-earned dollars directly to these thugs and villains; not to mention the billions of your tax dollars spent to carry on the war against drugs.
Legalization will create local jobs and redirect (a much reduced) fortune back into the local economy. I invite anyone who drinks or smokes to tally up how much money you would save if the recreational drug of choice where to cost a small fraction of what you now pay.
The quantity of recreational drugs we consume has far more to do with opportunity (times when we are not busy with work or school) than it does with the cost of the drugs.
The more people participate in life through productive or educational activities, the less reason they have to escape life through drug use.
Stop turning our honest citizens into liars and criminals.
Legal or otherwise, there is no place for drugs at work (especially where public safety is an issue) or behind the wheel of a car. The laws for regulating these crimes are already in place, we just need to be more responsible about this issue.
If you want to warn young people about the dangers of drug abuse, I suggest a program where we have real drug addicts (especially crack-heads) visit the schools. Ten minutes of listening to these dysfunctional, destitute bastards describe the ravages of drug abuse will have more of an impact on kids than any poster or slogan. They would be delighted to be of service.

2. Reduce and Simplify Taxation

Create an official “cash business”. Where there are no tax deductions, no business license required and all transactions are for cash. The purpose of this Cash Business class is create opportunities for even the poorest member of society to become a productive member of the economy. This class of business is really only appropriate for very small businesses like casual (temporary) labor positions, and selling goods without a store front; businesses with little or no operating expenses. Businesses with liability issues are not appropriate for this class. For example, paying cash to have the inside of my house painted would be a risk I am willing to take, replacing the roof on my house is not.

Eliminate income tax on the poor and working poor. The income tax rate on employees earning minimum wage or slightly above should be zero. When a working family have to rely on government subsidies to pay their rent, then tax rates on the poor are too high.

Simplify taxation. The tax preparation industry exists largely because taxation has become too complicated. This complicated tax structure amounts to a hidden tax on the average wage earner. Tax forms must be simple enough that most employees can prepare their own taxes. Small businesses should have the option of collecting their receipts for deductions (like now) or choosing an average level of deductions for their business category and location. The goal is to reduce the overhead for small business and individuals.

Expand funding and repayment options for education and training. In addition to making educational loans more widely available, provide the repayment option of community service. In fact, there are many jobs in the government service sector that could be done exclusively by recent graduates of college, university and vocational programs. On the job training and being of service to your community have always been an integral part of any educational program, this program simply aims to increase the opportunities.

Eliminate subsidies and monopolies. When essential goods like groceries cost 25 to 50 percent more in Canada than they do just a few miles across the border, someone is getting rich at your expense and it's not the Americans. This is just a hidden tax on all of us that goes to benefit a few rich and well connected businessmen. We need an aggressive anti-competition watchdog agency with the power to remove artificial barriers that prevent an efficient free market in goods and services.
Freedom and Prosperity Matters. Why do Americans think they live in the greatest country on earth? Let's face it, millions of people have already immigrated, many risking their lives to get there. The attraction of the US is more freedom, opportunity and economic abundance. Living there is easier than just about anywhere else, at the end of the month people have more money to spend and they get to spend it on whatever makes them happy; self-expression, business ideas, education, drugs, you name it. The united states is a utopia for the development of the human spirit. The greater the percentage of the population that is able to develop and express themselves, the more the society advances; everyone benefits.

The magic of creation and innovation can only occur when the mundane issues of survival (food, shelter, clothing) are taken care of. Poverty, on the other hand is the antithesis of self-development; there is simply no energy left to develop the human spirit; people are just doing their job or getting by. And that's why Canada is a second rate nation behind both the United States and even Mexico, which is enjoying a renaissance in education and economic development as they move from a repressed third world county into a first rate economic and cultural powerhouse.

Open the borders with the USA and Mexico. When you drive into Mexico at Tijuana immigration stops at most every 10^th car, and only then to look for expensive imported goods, they never check your papers. 50,000 people a day commute from Mexico to work and go to school in Southern California. The borders of North America serve no purpose except as a means to intimidation and separation, the police can still track criminals, there are laws governing employment and access to government services. Borders perpetuate ignorance, they prevent citizens from experiencing how life exists in other places and they prevent the sharing of culture and good will. Remember, it's hard to do violence against people you know, which explains why most politicians like borders.

There are just so smart people in the world; to sit smugly behind a wall of ignorance (border, laws and regulations) is nothing to be proud of. We must constantly be on the search for best-of practices throughout the world in order to benefit from their failures and successes.

3. Provide Universal Health Care

We must have a nation-wide universal health care. Unlike consumer goods and services which are nice to haves, money or lack of it should never be a factor in deciding when to seek heath care. The longer a patient waits to seek medical attention, the worse the medical condition becomes and more expensive it is to treat the ailment. Delayed medical diagnosis and treatment is the least effective and most expensive health care strategy there is.

Eye care and dental health are every bit as important as any other health issue. Unfortunately, there are just far too many people running around with missing teeth and poor eyesight because they can not bring themselves to pay for, what seems to them, to be exorbitant fees for basic health care services. The costs associated with these service would be greatly reduced if they were part of the overall health care system.
Medical tourism – the business of patients traveling to another country to have medical procedures done is a booming business. It is time to take a hard look at the cost of medical procedures in this country. Dentistry and eye care are two prime examples.
Promote healthy living. When a man is down to his last five dollars, he will rarely spend it on a book, preferring instead the pleasures of alcohol, tobacco or drugs. Poverty, the lack of material and spiritual health is the single greatest cause of drug abuse and unhealthy lifestyles in the world today. When a man or woman is depressed as a result of living in filthy, squalid conditions and overwhelmed by their impoverished surroundings, no amount of drugs, legal or otherwise is going to cure their depression. We need to know what people are dealing with to help them. We need better communication. All we have to do is ask, but trust is essential. Treating adults and teens people like children has never worked.

Medical Pay-offs. In B.C. I know of a patient who was told by their doctor they would have to wait 10 months before they can visit a hip replacement specialist. Placing a call to that same specialist, they are surprised to learn that for $1,500 they can see the specialist in three weeks. Paying cash to a doctor to jump the queue is exactly like paying $20 to a Mexican traffic cop for not writing a speeding ticket. This is bribery, it is wrong and it has no place in a health care system. Though I must confess paying $20 sure beats a trip to the police station.

4. Universal Access to Shelter and Opportunity

Fortunately, what needs to be done in the world is clear.

Most people agree on what they want out of life.

They want the basics—food, clothing, shelter, good health.

They want a beautiful and healthy natural environment.

They want opportunities—education, jobs, personal growth.

They want human dignity and a spiritual life.

They want love. They want peace.

Kent M. Keith, “Do It Anyway”

Dying on the street. It is simply unacceptable that a single person to be left to die on the street in Canada. So, the first order of the day is everyone gets a bed and a secure place for their stuff; tent's, shelters, hotels, or shacks in the country, they must have a place. Not a big problem, really.

Consider, if an earthquake were to destroy several high rise condos in downtown Vancouver, do you suppose all those people would simply be left on the streets? They would become refugees and they would be cared for. The homeless are no different, if you don't have a home you are a refugee; be it environmental, economic, political or whatever.

The basics must be available: a roof, bed, shower, locker, health care, haircuts, clean clothing and nutritional food must be free and available to everyone. Except for the nutritional food, these services are available now...but they are often rationed or access restricted for a variety reasons.

If people are going to work, ad to this list of essentials a pass for the transit system, a cell phone and access to a computer and the Internet. It is nearly impossible to find and keep a job without these basic tools. It's also a health issue, people need to be able to connect with family and friends. Removed from their old support network, depression, drugs and alienation will soon fill the void.

No more hand-outs, that's old school and it just creates dependency and isolation. People staying at shelters can help run the shelters, being on the team connects them with healthy attitudes and productive work. We must seize upon every opportunity to create belonging and self-respect.

Volunteering and teamwork. I once took seminars at a global educational company based in the United Stated but with offices in 10 countries around the world. Ninety percent of the people producing their educational programs are volunteers. Can you imagine the difference having that level of volunteer contributions makes to their operating expenses? And it was not your average production team either, a precondition of volunteering was that you agreed to get more out of your participation than you put into it. That is the attitude and spirit of cooperation that we need at the shelters. It is exactly what people need when they have nothing else.

“What gets measured gets managed,” says Peter Drucker, and that is a key element in knowing how to end the visible signs of homelessness. We need to know exactly what people need and provide a path for them to achieve it. That's right, a path, people need to be feel like they are moving forward in life, not slipping into an abyss of loneliness and despair.

Measurement also provides an accurate picture, a how are we doing report card on our social service programs. On a monthly basis, (statistics are already available via computer) if the public knows how many people are on social assistance, how many are working, unemployed, in shelters and on anti-depressants, etc, then we get an accurate and timely indicator of the effectiveness of the government and health of our people.

Opportunity. We need to provide more opportunities for people to participate in their communities; to create a sense of belonging through work and play. Give people a stake, make them responsible for some part of the communities in which they live. There is no shortage of things that could be done to benefit each community, including beautification projects, being of service and building infrastructure.

It is not until people experience community for themselves that they will ever feel a sense of belonging to, or responsibility for a community. It's the difference between owning the world you live in, and just passing though without anything at stake; the difference between owning and renting.