Communities #204
Fall 2024
Note: You can order a copy of this issue here.
The stories in Communities #204 explore the theme of Politics from many different angles. We learn about a communitarian’s US Senate run, an international community threatened by an authoritarian government, challenges experienced by people of color in community, a year in a toxic community, the importance of outer political engagement, communal living as a political act, military veterans in community, consensus and sociocracy, internalized capitalism, polarization, diversity, inclusion, boundaries, and more. Please join us!
Notes from the Editor: Withdrawal and Engagement by Chris Roth
Not only in the larger society, but also in the smaller societies of intentional communities, the whole is more “whole,” and more resilient, when all participate, especially those who may feel initially uncomfortable doing so.
Another Quintessential Commune Moment by Valerie, RatzoSkull, McCune
Political drama hits letter-readers and writers in Twin Oaks’ Zhankoye lounge.
Bringing Love to the Heart of the Beast: How Communalism Inspired a US Senate Run by Yana Ludwig
I’m grateful to have been able to export a little of the feisty commitment to direct democracy that characterizes the communities movement and insert it into the heart of the beast for those 15 months.
Auroville: A Vision Under Siege—Autonomy vs. Authoritarianism by Viduthalai Ottrumai (view pdf)
Can collective action still counteract authoritarian tendencies, despite many instances of tightening global control by government and powerful economic entities? Auroville provides a test case.
Engaging Difficult Knowledge: Experiencing Power, Race, and Presence in Communities by Jahia LaSangoma
I cannot help myself from looking around these more isolated communities and thinking about the conversations which have never happened before without the presence of people of color.
The Great Schism by O.W.G.
Of course the blame may fall upon me, my age or gender or race or “privilege.” Youth and age, the more left-leaning learning proffered to the young, are all part of the entangled dynamics fueling political and emotional divides.
Tricky Issues with BIPOC and Well-Meaning White Community Members by Diana Leafe Christian
As we stumble along this steep learning curve, let’s welcome the future with greater awareness of racial injustice historically and of our own stuck issues and blind spots, and develop considerably more kindness, compassion, and grace.
Challenges in Inclusivity by Laird Schaub
Rather than voting off the island everyone who is unacceptably different, how can we disagree about how to view and respond to issues when the stakes are high, and reliably have that exploration bring us closer together?
Wounded Healers Together—or Not by Shannon Kelly
This ideology that seemed so useful to Bev also encouraged her to trust nobody—especially nobody she saw as “white.” She was no longer able to lean on me, to believe that I had her best interests at heart.
Inclusion and Boundaries: Reflecting on “The Great Schism” and “Wounded Healers” by Crystal Farmer
A desire for inclusion shouldn’t mean abandoning boundaries. It means communicating clearly and with empathy for the challenges someone else is experiencing, but drawing a line for people who may need more support than the community is capable of.
Can You Trust Too Much?: My Year in a Toxic Community by Christa “Leila” Dregger
Growing up as a German, I had always asked myself how a system like Nazism, based on despising other people, could have been agreed to by my ancestors. After this experience, I now know a part of the answer to that question.
Finding Political Clarity by Josh Fattal
People seeking to withdraw from society are attracted to intentional communities, yet ICs are in no way doomed to political avoidance. How a community engages publicly, how it behaves to change the distribution of power in society, is a choice.
In Praise of Being: Lifestyle as an act of politics and power by Riana Good
I used to think that more doing was important for changing the world and for remaining in integrity and putting love and compassion into action. Now I am learning more of what it is like to prioritize being.
Political Engagement in a Multifaith Community by Joyce Bressler
Despite my anger at the church for kicking us out, I am grateful for having had that space as long as we did, and the explicit opportunity to include political engagement as part of an intentional community.
Confronting Our Past: Why We Renamed Our Cohousing Community by Laura Fitch, Andrew Grant, Mary Porcino, and Beth Siftar
Facing hard facts about the attempted erasure of Native Peoples inspired us to seek a new name. A critical step was “un-learning” indifference toward Native life and culture, especially in the middle Connecticut River Valley.
A Desire to Serve: The Experience of Military Veterans in Intentional Communities by Avi Kruley, Sky Blue, and Zach Rubin
Who are veterans and what do they care most about? How might they play a vital part in your community? What barriers exist in your community that might prevent veterans from joining?
Internalized Capitalism and Intentional Communities by Dave Booda
While intentional communities naturally hold at bay some of mainstream culture’s capitalist habits, recognizing and resisting our internalized capitalism can help us create stronger micro-cultures of care, generosity, and consideration for everyone.
Consensus and Sociocracy—Explained by Jerry Koch-Gonzalez and Ted Rau
The difference between consensus and sociocracy cannot be reduced to “consensus” vs. “consent,” or “everyone decides” vs. “small groups decide.” Our processes and systems aim to balance inclusion, getting things done, connection, and resources.
REACH
Political Engagement for Introverts by Elizabeth Barr
I don’t want to march in big crowds of protesters, run for political office, or go knocking door-to-door to hand out fliers or offer petitions to sign, but I’ve found ways to engage that let me do useful work and be helpful.
ON THE COVER: Tragedy, comedy, or historical drama? Politics can be any or all of these, as well as the seedbed of our collective future, both in community and out. All the world’s a stage during Fair preparations at the Oregon Country Fairgrounds, just south of Politics Park on the “8,” June 29, 2024.* Photo by Chris Roth.
*We received feedback just before press time that, given the blue and red/orange masks it depicts, this issue’s cover might be construed as some kind of partisan commentary on US politics and even, perversely, an endorsement of the smiling mask’s party. We wish to nip this conspiracy theory in the bud by stating that while the mask colors did evoke “politics” to us, the expressions on those masks were incidental, not in our control, and played no part in the choice of this cover photo, which ended up as our only viable cover option anyway.
However, if you want to assign meaning to the mask expressions, please note that the photo dates from two days after a certain disastrous presidential debate, and does rather accurately reflect political moods at that moment. In Politics as in all of life, things change, and thankfully that is also true metaphorically for these masks since then—and would be true physically too if we could repaint them and retake the photo.
—CR