REPUBLICANS CRAVE TOTAL CONTROL

Seats in the Senate
54 / 100
Seats in the House
246 / 435
Governorships
31 / 50
State Upper Chamber Seats
1,134 / 1,972
State Lower Chamber Seats
3,044 / 5,411
 Seats on the Supreme Court
5 / 9

So there you have it:  a minority Party in terms of registered members is in almost complete control of the offices of government on the federal and state levels. 

Gallup reported in 2013 that an average of 47% of Americans identified as Democrats or said they were independents who leaned Democratic in 2012, compared with 42% who identified as or leaned Republican, re-establishing a Democratic edge in party affiliation after the two parties were essentially tied in 2010 and 2011.  “In the 114th U.S. Congress, Republicans have their largest majority in the House of Representatives since the 1928 election and a majority of seats in the Senate. The party also holds a majority of governorships and state legislatures.  Specifically, 68 out of 98 partisan state legislative chambers have Republican majorities."

Just in case you've forgotten, here is Wikipedia's brief summary of some of what the GOP supports, in general:
"The party's platform is generally based on American conservatism, in contrast to the modern American liberalism of the Democrats. The Republican Party's conservatism involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, business, a strong national defense, deregulation, restrictions to labor unions, socially conservative policies and traditional values, usually with Christian overtones. The party is generally split on the issue of how to deal with illegal immigration."
There is just one office missing for the GOP, and they know it all too well.  The Republican Party will sacrifice anything to grab it in 2016, and if the past two presidential campaigns are any indication, nothing will stop them except the grass-roots support that twice elected President Barack Obama.
 
It cannot be emphasized too strongly that Democrats of all stripes must be especially careful not to under-estimate this supposedly minority Party.  There is already too much self-confidence and virtual silence pervading among democratic leaders who think (wrongly, I believe) that they do not need to get involved just yet; that there will be the right time to speak out and support the ticket, whatever it turns out to be.  Pardon me if I strongly demur on that opinion and attitude.

I believe it is foolhardy (and just plain stupid) to think that the Democratic Party will have an easy victory in 2016, and that we can wait even one more minute to begin an all-out campaign to put forth the kinds of concepts, solutions and values that matter to the majority of people in this country.  It is evident that nascent voters, uninformed voters, careless voters, independent voters and just plain angry voters have been bamboozled into believing that supporting Republican radicals on state and national levels is going to win them something -- a false hope if ever there was one! 

I am of the firm conviction that we Democrats need to make a change that is crucial to our victory and our future.  First and foremost, we need Democratic leaders on the stump immediately to answer (and to present facts about) every BIG LIE the Republicans tell.  Where is the Party Chair; where are the liberal & progressive Senators, where are prominent congressional representatives; where are the governors?  We need voices pounding away and calling out all the Republicans who are now grabbing all the headlines and negatively branding our candidates without any rebuttal.  What are we waiting for: November 2016? 
Second, we need to think both in terms of numbers and in terms of issues and policies.  We need to use the nuts and bolts of grass-roots campaigning to bring out more voters than anyone might expect.  We need to show that we have the will and the numbers to turn back this trend toward ultra-conservative Republican rule and that populist values are in charge.  We have already missed one opportunity to increase our numbers by not mounting a nation-wide voter registration campaign; although the League of Women Voters tried their best to get one going.  We must rely on getting unregistered Democrats, Independents, and un-committed voters to register right now!

What bothers me is that too many party leaders believe that can wait until the last few days before Election Day when a national GOTV effort is usually launched.  Too Late!  We have to start NOW.  Almost every state has a general election voter registration deadline; New York's deadline is 25 days before the election which would fall on October 9, 2015.  (However, if anyone wants to vote in the Primary elections in New York, they must have registered with a Party affiliation by September 29, 2015).  A listing of state registration deadlines for the general election can be found at https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote). 

On that same website, there is more useful information, such as the fact that "The National Mail Voter Registration Form" is the one document that allows you to register to vote in most states in the U.S., but if you happen to live in one of the few states that do not permit its use, please check with your state election office to find out how to register to vote.  The site also lists suggestions of where you might be able to register to vote in person.
In twenty states, you can register online to vote. Please see the table of states with online voter registration or contact your state election office to learn more.  If you are outside of the U.S., you can get information online from the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) or call an international FVAP hotline.
You can also use the National Mail Voter Registration Form to update your registration if you changed your name, to change your address, or to register with a political party.
I hope these tidbits of information have been helpful.  NOW let's all get busy and get people registered to vote (especially likely democratic voters), because WE MUST turn out big numbers of voters this coming year.

Let me make just one more major point for your consideration: if Democrats don't win back at least one of the two Houses of Congress, and if we lose the Presidency to a Republican, here is what we can expect to happen, based on what the radicalized Republican Party has already proposed, threatened,  passed or litigated, in no particular order or ranking:

1. The Iran agreement will be scuttled; sanctions will be restored; arms will be increased to Israel, and oil fields and refineries will again be targets; thus, 
2. There will be another War in the Middle East within the first two years of the first term of a Republican President, meaning
3. Gas prices at the pump will soar; military spending particularly on private contracts will escalate, and the citizenry will once again suffer the effects of a war economy with private enterprise profiting while the poor and the middle-class suffer the same old same old - wage cuts; slowed economy generally (although not so for defense-related industries).
4. There will be tax cuts for the rich disguised as either a "reform of the tax code," or a "lowering of taxes," or a "whole new system" of taxation, like a consumption tax, or a simplified system of just three tax brackets.  At the same time, the Republicans will seek to eliminate the "death tax," lower the corporate tax, and either lower or eliminate the tax on capital gains, along with a few others, or they will simply establish a one-rate-fits-all or a tax on consumption rather than on income. No matter how this plays out, it will result in more riches for the wealthy but
5. A large tax increase for the middle class which will be paying for the War, the increased military spending, the private contracts to private companies, and the tax cuts for the wealthy corporations and individuals.  But it doesn't stop there...
6. A Republican President and Congress, working together, will act almost immediately to destroy the Affordable Care Act law by legislation, which they have already begun to do, of course.  Did you know that they are involved at the moment in attempting through the court system to destroy the subsidy provisions of the Law in order to gut its intended purpose of aiding those who could not afford health insurance?  This means
7. Higher premiums for all of us because we will be right back to where we were before "Obamacare" -- subsidizing the big health insurance companies by paying more (for ourselves and others) and receiving less in health coverage.  So, not only is your wallet involved, but so is your health.
8. Once health care and health care coverage come under attack, the battle-cry will shift to the "reduction of federal spending" by cutting programs that have any relation whatsoever to liberal-sounding government hand-outs.  The disguises and excuses will be "creation of dependency on government," the need to "cut the deficit," (which has already been achieved by the Obama administration), and the importance of "taking of responsibility" for meeting challenges.
9. The first step will be the devolvement of certain programs to the states, where many such programs will simply whither and eventually die for lack of adequate administrative monies and adequate staffing.  In my opinion, this process may well begin with a several programs rolled into a larger package (including perhaps Food Stamps) that will prepare the way for the entire Medicaid program to be block-granted to the states with little hope for its continuance as it now stands.
10. The second step is to cut back on the Medicare Program, thus proactively laying the groundwork for a no-chance move by the middle class or the working poor to support a single payer system based on a Medicare model.  Every attempt will be made to limit the long-term care aspects to privately run institutions, and to cut as many benefits as possible.
11. The third part of this attack is that on Social Security.  If Social Security has little if any effect on the deficit (funded by a separate tax and held in a separate Trust Fund), why are Republicans so adamant about creating a Social Security crisis, and claiming it is affecting the deficit and going broke?  Three major reasons: (a) it makes the Social Security Trust Fund another so-called failure by the federal government, thus setting up (b) a call for privatizing of social security so the bankers and financiers and brokers can get their hands on those funds, and (c) to protect the wealthy from ever having to support the middle class and the working poor by paying anything beyond a minimum into that system.
12. If you watched the first two Republican presidential candidate debates, then you know clearly that we will be facing a huge build-up of military forces and armaments under a radical Republican take-over.  While these statements reflect the tendency of Republican administrations to emphasize military build-up so that private investors, rich corporations and private contractors can be assured of some lucrative government contracts and government money to be had in all military-related enterprises, the outcome for the United States will be an increasing national debt, and a militarization that is nothing more than a symbol of "mightiness."  It will not produce the kind of efficient and effective forces that can counter radical Jihadists or radical insurgents.  The build-up will simply satisfy the hawkish tendencies of politicians (and of some wealthy corporation heads) born in another century, and remembering great victories in all-out world wars.  There are no such great victories in modern warfare -- everybody loses.

Above all, please note that this "dirty dozen" just scratches the surface.  There is much more to come your way -- some not quite so transparent or well-defined openly -- but they are going to affect your life if the Republicans ever get hold of the Presidency while holding on to all the rest they now possess.  They know it -- they can smell the power.  Why do you think there are so many Republican candidates?  They know what an outrageously powerful position he (or she?) will occupy.  We are not talking Reaganesque or Eisenhower-like power.  We are talking Putin-power!  Ever hear of the "Imperial Presidency?"  Backed up by Republican office-holders in the majority everywhere one looks, this Republican President has the potential of being the most powerful Potentate ever produced by a seemingly democratic nation.

Even Carly Fiorina talks openly on the debate stage of calling the leader of Iran to let him know what might this nation possesses and what power she will project.  Trump feeds this power-hungry obsession with his constant chatter about "winning" and "deal-making." And don't forget that Joe McCarthy look-alike imperialist named Ted Cruz who exudes a no-compromise demeanor on everything on the far Right.  He is a "Dominionist" Christian, dedicated to the proposition that elite Christian leaders must be in place for the final Armageddon.  His very soul is embroiled in no compromise, no quarter given, no mercy on the cast-offs.  He is dedicated to a philosophy and theology that fits into the elitist over-powering destroyers of evil (and of non-believers) who will be in charge on the Last Days.  His philosophy is dangerous in the extreme (for more on this, see my Blog posts of 10/6 and 10/13/2013).

So, what else can you expect from this power-hungry group.  First, just a few reminders of the "attacks" that will continue, on:

• Organized Labor -- Minimum wage increase will be attacked and so will bargaining rights until employers have inordinate amounts of control over employees, such as who gets paid for overtime.  If you don't get it, just try to appeal a firing without cause in your non-union shop.  Any union worker who votes Republican has sold his or her soul and livelihood, and deserves the inevitable consequences
• Women's Health and Rights -- no exceptions on abortion; no family leave time; no pensions; more health care restrictions with loss of ACA; de-funding of Planned Parenthood centers that primarily serve the preventative health needs of disadvantaged women.  Where will they go now for cancer screenings and pre-natal care or other lab tests and treatments?  Are Emergency Rooms ready for the onslaught?
• LGBT and Gay Marriage -- unending attacks and a likely attempt at a constitutional amendment that enshrines marriage between “a man and a woman.”  To a man (and a woman) the 11 Republican candidates oppose marriage equality.  Many right-wing politicians are now speaking out in biblical language about the sin of sodomy and the punishment that God will impose on sodomites.
• People of Color -- use of greater police interventions will become the norm; militarization of police forces will increase; use of "informers" will become a warrant-less means used by police to attack more than that pro tennis player; the right-wing judges to be appointed by a right-wing President will continue to erode civil rights, especially of those of color (and will eventually erode the rights of all).  The right to no arrest or home entry without a valid warrant; the right to an attorney; the right to refuse identification or to refuse to answer police questions; the right to a fair trial and a fair hearing on over-charged charges; the right to question your accuser (secret and protected informants) -- all of these are being threatened as we speak, but none more than voting rights of a growing number especially among certain groups like African-Americans and young people.
•  The Middle Class -- has it ever occurred to you that there might be a reason that the middle class is being attacked, other than the usual complaint of a widening income gap?  Try this on for size:  the middle class is very large while the elite who aim to control the levers of power in this country are small in numbers.  First, what a competitor must do is to cut the middle class down to manageable portions by taking out some of its largest props like Social Security and Labor unions and health care. 
  Second, to reduce the potency of a united middle class, the elite must encourage internal warfare within that same large group so that portions of it are unalterably opposed to other portions (it just so happens that fomenting religious disagreements is a great catalyst in such an effort).
  Third, desperate people are much easier to control.  People living from paycheck to paycheck; people worried about paying the rent or feeding their families; people working more than one job who are constantly tired; people just trying to make ends meet are not apt to care about what Congress is doing, or what decisions the SCOTUS makes or what the President - whoever he is (and many don't even know) -- attempts.  It is not of concern to desperate people.  And the category of desperate people is growing because many can't buy a house, others can't afford a car; some can't see how they will afford college for children; some have health concerns that are eating up their already-stretched budgets.  The greatest cause of desperation may be the more than common fact that many are falling out of the middle class into poverty or near poverty: a place they have never before experienced. 

Finally, let me lay out for you in a list format what many may not realize will be coming along with the denouement of total Republican control, made real by a GOP presidential victory in 2016.  Of course, this is not a definitive list, for it seems that these Right-wingers come up with something new almost every day!
Forcing the Christian evangelical religion upon every American by various and nefarious government-backed schemes such as displaying the Ten Commandments on public property, requiring prayer in schools or influencing the curricula of public schools at all levels
Using the 1st amendment to allow corporations to use religious belief as a license to discriminate against gays or against women who use contraceptives or who knows what is next: perhaps against anyone who had an abortion; how about ultimately against anyone who believes something contrary to the vendor's beliefs?
Privatizing everything possible: schools, prisons, some military tasks, even the Post Office!
Ending all talk of election reform with increased gerrymandering of districts, larger campaign funding maximums for individuals, more freedom for candidates to interact with their PACs, and the end of all talk of overturning Citizens United.
Undercutting all talk of "climate change" and "alternative fuels" by increasing our production and dependence on oil, coal and gas; by de-funding the EPA; by extending climate change denial talk to foreign countries in terms of treaties and agreements and international meetings
and don't forget all those cuts in programs that Republicans have been pushing since they took control of Congress (and before in most cases):
    Corporation for Public Broadcasting
    National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities
    Legal Services Corporation
    Hope VI Program
    Amtrak subsidies
    Community Development Fund
    Technology Innovation Program
    Grants to States for Weatherization
    New Starts for Transit
    Intercity and High Speed Rail grants
    Volunteer Programs under the Corporation for National and Community Services
    Applied Research at the DoE
    Energy Star Program
    Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the UN

What we heard last Wednesday evening from the Republican presidential candidates only serves to prove my point:  this is not just about winning an election.  This is about the future of this country and about the use of governmental power on behalf of the people's welfare, not on behalf of elected officials and their corporate and individual funding sponsors.  This is about the use of POWER.  Republicans want that power in the hands of a few elite person and industrial entities.  Progressives want that power in the hands of servants of the people and of the People themselves. It is a fundamental difference in the social-political-economic philosophy and activism of the Right and the Left; of Republican and Democrat; of those who serve to crave and to profit themselves, and those who crave to serve and profit the People. 
Numbers don't lie--- we must turn out a huge majority of democratic voters and take back the Senate, and keep the Presidency.  Anything less will be a disaster, just like the "Reagan Revolution" that has negatively affected this country's standing and well-being for over 30 years.  We cannot survive intact a Right-wing takeover that leaves us with the disaster of concepts that have failed before and will fail us again. The election of 2016 will be the decider of more than four years in the oval office; it will be the determiner of the direction of this country for at least the next decade and probably more.  

COMMUNITY BUILDING

I must admit, I like to parse words.  I like especially to explore definitions that may have been overlooked or somewhat lost in the shuffle of everyday discourse.  Today, I’d like to look at a word that gets used a lot to describe a group, mainly perhaps a government or political entity; that word is “community.” 

As a matter of fact, I recently attended a meeting with representatives of a community foundation and of a community development organization (on whose board of directors I happen to serve). Sure enough, the meanings and derivatives of the word “community” were bandied about as a natural outgrowth of our common mission to serve and to impact our communities and our constituencies. What follows is a compendium of some of the common concepts discussed, along with a few of my own musings. I do hope it provokes a positive response in terms of your own concerns about your community and its concerns, problems, needs and whatever dynamics happen to exist where you live or work. First, it is necessary to lay some groundwork. How about a dictionary definition of “community”:

“1. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and have a cultural and historical heritage”

So far; so good, and pretty standard.  Generally, we live in such defined communities: hamlets, villages, boroughs, towns and cities.  Of course, there are some who live in more isolated circumstances, and their “community” may be less-well defined.  It is, perhaps, whatever they wish to make of it.  Our country has almost always had the former constructs, and the latter individualized farms and homesteads were perhaps more common in our early history, as more and more emigrants, settlers, exiles, adventurers and just plain curious folk began to settle this colonial possession, relying perhaps on land grants, land speculations, and public purchase of lands;  many taking part in building communities.

It is perhaps the sharing of a cultural and historical heritage that was of great importance in the building of colonial communities, and perhaps even more so in our later national history in the 19th century.  According to Wikipedia, “Historians estimate that fewer than 1 million immigrants came to the United States from Europe between 1600 and 1799.  The country’s first Immigration Act of 1790  limited naturalization to "free white persons"; but was expanded to include blacks in the 1860s and Asians in the 1950s. In the early years of the United States, immigration was fewer than 8,000 people a year, including French refugees from the slave revolt in Haiti. After 1820, immigration gradually increased. From 1836 to 1914, over 30 million Europeans migrated to the United States.  In 1875, the nation passed its first immigration law, the Page Act of 1875.  The peak year of European immigration was in 1907, when 1,285,349 persons entered the country.  By 1910, 13.5 million immigrants were living in the United States.

Migrations from Europe, especially in the 19th century, created certain ethnic enclaves in many eastern cities.  In this geographical area, we recognize the importance of certain ethnic groups in giving flavor and identity to certain of our cities and towns.  Utica and Rome are both known for Italian heritage and background.   Again, from Wikipedia:

“Italian Americans are the largest ethnic group in Oneida County, as well as in some counties in the Hudson Valley that are closest to New York City. Irish Americans represent the largest ethnic group from the Capital District, Syracuse, Binghamton, and the rest of the Hudson Valley, with Irish population consistently above 15% in most of upstate New York (reaching over 20% in the upper Hudson Valley), compared to less than 8% in most of New York City.  Buffalo also contains a notably large contingent of residents with Polish ancestry. African Americans, while not as numerous as in New York City, make up at least 25% of the residents in cities such as Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany. There is also a significant presence of the indigenous Six Nations in the region, who retain several reservations: the Seneca nation and Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians in Western New York, the Onondaga nation south of Syracuse, the Oneida nation of Oneida County and the Mohawk nation in Franklin County. Members of the Six Nations also live in the cities of Upstate New York.”

HOWEVER, the point must be made that long-standing ethnic enclaves have not only contributed to the building of community and of communities, they have also contributed to a status quo that has sometimes resisted the inclusion of newer cultural and ethnic groups in local institutions, organizations, and  community leadership.  The diversity of a city like Utica, NY represents its heritage, its strength, and its promise.  But a reluctance to recognize and embrace change in demographics or dynamics; a comfortableness with the status quo, and an unawareness of concerns, needs and issues outside of one’s insular world, can also contribute to a controlled structure that has difficulty with community-building, inclusion and unity.  And therein lies a challenge.

Within that word “community” are two words that present the aspects of that challenge: one is “commun” (“common”); the other is “unity.”  So let us not overlook the dictionary definitions that pertain to them:

“2. the community, the public.  3. agreement; identity”

We are not looking here at “common” in the sense of vulgar or ordinary or of inferior quality.  Not at all.  We are concentrating on the qualities of “belonging equally’ ‘ making ‘common cause,’ holding something ‘ in common,’ and denoting  ‘of the people, for the people and by the people’.”  The roots of our Republic, of our Democracy, begin with the public nature of community.  It is the people who matter; who are the foundation and the roots of it all.  When building community, we cannot forget this concept, for too much attention to the physical structures of buildings and organizations, or to niceties and decorative add-ons and flourishes of excess, or to programs with little impact beyond a small enclave, are not always integral to the building of a community (not that they can’t be important to the enabling of people sometimes).  Rightly, you might ask at this point:  well, what is at the heart of building community identity and well-being?  Let me suggest a few thoughts on this before I refer to materials that may help with more thoughts and answers.

Ask the People.  Is this so difficult that we choose not to do it?  So many organizations, so many institutions, so many programs forget this one very fundamental principle.  If your “community,” whatever and wherever it is, is planning to do something or call for something that affects people’s lives, then first ask the people who will be affected what they think, what they want, what they need, what their dream/hope/desire/best-case-scenario is.  If we based our community-building on the community itself rather than on the opinions of the supposed leaders/representatives of the community or on the loud-mouths with their own agendas of profit or aggrandizement or just plain stubbornness, we might see real identity, real change, real progress and even improved lives.

How do we ask?  Well, probably not by sending out surveys in the mail that ask questions suited to answers already pre-determined by the sender!  But there are legitimate uses for surveys, and questionnaires and interviews and polls.  But here’s the rub.  Most people are not going to take time from their self-perception (deception?) of lives “too busy” to sit down, answer 50 questions and then mail back a questionnaire.  The personal touch is preferable if you can get volunteers or paid personnel to go door-to-door; do a phone bank or hold a public meeting. 

More preferable, perhaps, is to associate a survey or question-asking or poll-taking with something else, so that the targets of the survey are already engaged and just need to be enticed further to give answers. 

• give out something free at an event where you have a booth and ask only that people answer a few questions before they receive their free gift
• get someone else to sponsor your event who can draw a clientele to their product, and then direct them to your survey as part of their promotion
• “capture” participants in a way that almost requires them to answer your survey before they can leave
• make sure you have a part in a community event that is a big draw for people you are also trying to reach
• use your imagination

Build Bridges.  You simply can’t get the various groups of people (“cohorts”) to respond, to give input, to participate, and to join in a common cause if they don’t have the bridges to cross or the structures through which to communicate.  In other words, one of the failings of our institutions and organizations is the tendency to have an ‘open door’ policy, but to forget to construct the path to the door or the “doors."  Or, to rely on statistics like census data that are impersonal and often estimated in terms of current numbers.  Numbers cannot tell personal stories, and personal stories are the vehicles of personal circumstances, needs, hopes, promises and successes.  We must build-in to our governments and our schools and other public institutions, as well as into our private and philanthropic organizations (even our businesses), structures that enable (not just ‘invite’) desired participants.  Inviting people to participate is tantamount in many cases to shouting at people with acrophobia to cross a bridge that is 80 feet in the air!  They aren’t going to do it!

So OK, what are some examples of bridges that can be built:

• small groups of people who gather in private homes to discuss topics of the day
• regular meetings of targeted cohorts with leaders of organizations to discuss and plan for better outreach
• promotion of regular training sessions for jobs usually unavailable to certain groups
• leadership training for young people emphasizing skills, not personality or qualities
• on-going “advisory’ and ‘planning’ groups that are formed and operated by participants but listened to by organization leadership with actual implementation of best suggestions
• involvement in organizations, groups and events already being held by targeted groups
• promotion of members of targeted cohorts for public office and for roles in community organizations
• support of community issues and projects important to the targeted cohort such as a community center; jobs; transportation; day care

Promote Common Cause/Unity.  From way back there in the War on Poverty days, we learned early on that working for change, reform or just plain recognition is doomed to failure without a common cause or unity on certain issues of real concern to most of the members of a target community.  Those causes must be worked out by the people themselves, with any assistance they may identify and recruit.  For such a thing to occur, there must be:

• a hashing-out period where the people decide what cause or causes to pursue
• strict adherence to the causes with variations approved only by the community
• an understanding that some things will just not be won the first time around, so a decision as to what is non-negotiable and what is negotiable must be made and carried through
• a trusted core of representatives to work out the plan
• alliances or agreements nurtured with those in power
• a coalition of like-minded but diverse individuals and organizations formed to give strength to the community cause: collaboration and common cause are vital to community-building
• symbols that illuminate the cause or causes appearing everywhere possible
• symbolic actions that promote the causes
• keep the larger community informed and keep recruiting followers – doesn’t hurt to ‘cultivate’ a few ‘followers’ in media outlets

Community Service.  One of the most under-rated yet most effective means of building bridges, common cause and community unity all at the same time involves community service.  Those who advocate for change and problem-solving and community-building must take responsibility for their own needs, gaps, and short-comings.   The community being built must include what I like to call a “Good Works Corps.”  Volunteers from every cohort in the community can be recruited to perform some action that meets some of the very problems and concerns that beset the community.  As well, the Corps can address issues of the larger community by serving in unexpected capacities to give back to the larger community surrounding them.  The Corps is another visible symbol of community, unity and common cause, but it is displayed in a way that benefits the larger area.  It is not the most difficult thing in the world, but it does take time, effort, energy and commitment.  Here are some thoughts:

• the Corps should not be limited to just young people or older people; it should encompass as many age, ethnic, racial, and other cohorts as possible; although age units within the Corps might serve particular populations or age-related needs
• it’s mission and purpose should be broad enough to lend a hand where needed, and to identify areas of need that are not being addressed
• the Corps does not need to work alone on its own projects but can lend a hand to existing agencies and programs to supplement and aid what they already do: "Habitat for Humanity” and "Big Brothers-Big Sisters" come to mind
• a resource for accomplishing this whole idea might be the Corporation for National and Community Service out of Washington, DC and connected to the federal government
• in fact, the use of AmeriCorps volunteers granted out of this agency might be the key to starting and organizing a “Good Works Corps.”
• What might the ‘GWC’ try to do?  Whatever it might be, let the Corps organize itself and make its own decisions as to what it will do, and what it can’t do; another chance to engage in Leadership Development based on skills rather than attributes of personality or background

Celebrate and Recognize.  A forgotten aspect of community-building sometimes is a very important ingredient.  The community as it builds must take the time to recognize it’s successes and it’s short-comings.  One way to do this is to publicize and invigorate the efforts of the community by inviting the target community and members of the larger community to celebrate. 

• Neighborhood parties, recognition ceremonies, special days in the calendar, special events in the community – they can all be occasions for celebrating and communicating the target community’s advances and developments.  One sure way to involve the larger community is to recognize and honor one of their own as a supporter, contributor, sponsor of whatever the target community is doing.  Using that as a drawing point, the target community can then celebrate it’s own successes within the same event by telling stories, honoring outstanding volunteers and leaders, recognizing hours served, etc.  Above all, don’t limit celebrations to the target community itself – get the larger community involved to some meaningful end.
• Don’t forget to evaluate the effort.  Get people together to say what needs to be improved.  Bring complainants in to thoroughly review complaints. Try some written evaluations just like surveys.  Find ways to get feedback on what works and what doesn’t, and then get suggestions for improvements.
• Finally, don’t slough-off on the statistical data-gathering.  Get someone to volunteer their time to record what kind of hours volunteers are putting in and what kinds of changes have occurred.  You need actual data to convince supporters, donors, grants-makers and the larger community leadership and citizenry that an impact has been made and that your community has moved ahead.  Invite them to come along.  And, don’t forget to wear those T-shirts and give out those key-chains and other symbols of your efforts and successes! 

Finally, you might find the following site an interesting and informative read.  It contains a comprehensive detailed account of steps needed in building healthy communities:

 http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement (if clicking on the link doesn’t work, try holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on the link)

Whoever you are, you can be a part of a community-building effort and make an impact on its health and well-being.   You just have to let someone know you’re ready!  If you can’t find a community development agency or service program in your area that can accommodate your desire to serve, contact me at impublius2@hotmail.com and I’ll try to find a spot for you to start.