Native American Wisdom Can Guide Us To Democracy

Fernando Guevara writes:

The world is changing. There is a public uprising afoot. It is peaceful; it is insistent; it is powerful. People no longer accept being played by corporate governments. They are changing the game. They are creating healthy communities. Many community functions can be run by communities themselves – we can repossess power to run our own lives from globalist corporate structures.

For instance, communities could run their own exercise centres, while at the same time providing additional sources of energy. Community-run gyms and other health facilities can be put to more use if, for instance, the energy spent by people using exercise bikes run dynamos that generate electricity for the local community. Practically, it is easy to modify a bicycle in order to turn a dynamo. Bike lights used to be run by dynamos. This method can easily be implemented by stationary exercise bikes in a gym, which could run local power structures. All it takes is getting used to the idea, then implementing it. It works.

Imagine going for a nice exercise at the local outdoor gym, situated in pleasant fresh air surroundings. After your work-out, you might socialise with old friends or new people you’ve met there. Then you might go to the local market to shop. Following is an example of a local market, which describes an existing community market in the USA, which we used to shop at (until we moved to a different country).

The farmer family, we can call them the Jones, raised their own beef and chickens, grew their own vegetables, potatoes, corn, even tobacco, and made their own wine. I’m not advocating the health benefits of tobacco here, just providing an example! The Jones set up a market place, where the food was placed in stalls, fridges and freezers. The food was marked with price tags, and the public was given access to the market. There was no cashier, and nobody was continuously present at the market. Instead, a box containing cash was sitting in one stall. People would come to the market, take the food they needed, leave a cash payment in the cash box, and take the change they were due. For anyone who thinks this could not possibly work, there is good news: It already does! The Jones’s market is frequented by locals. The locals keep the Jones in business, and their business provides locally-grown, ethically-produced healthy food for the community. Apparently, the system is not abused (or in any case not to an extent that has presented a problem). The Jones and the community trust each other to exchange services, provide accurate payment, and to not take any money you are not due from the cash box. Some people even put personal cheques in the box (yes, in the US people still use cheques – considered quaint in many countries, I know)! The Jones’s system can be implemented by individuals, families and co-ops. Moreover, the trust shown by the Jones encourages/amplifies trust and makes it easier to believe in the fact that most people really just want to live and let live.

Speaking of trust, I would like to tell this story about a man from whom I bought a used truck: we had agreed that I would take it out for a test-drive before deciding whether to buy. I offered the man a deposit while I took his car out (we had never met each other before). He said no to the offered deposit, and explained that it would do him less harm if I cheated him than if he believed that I was not trust-worthy! I think it was part of his culture (Cherokee).

Many Native American (Indian) nations teach us values of trust, co-existence and balance. For instance, Navajo culture rejects greed sickness and teaches us to not take more from nature than we need. Navajo teachings place much value on balance and “walking in beauty”. Maybe we could all help each other to restore some balance and beauty to people whom those things have been embezzled from, including ourselves.

The risk of abuse of community markets of the Jones model exists, of course. Abuse could occur not only if someone is selfish and decides to take produce without giving relevant exchange, but also if someone gets desperate and hungry enough to take without providing the requested payment. Naturally, there is a need for laws and legal systems that deal with violations. These legal systems must be designed to reconcile, forgive and redress. The goal is not to punish, but to provide compensation for those who have been wronged.

Obviously, there will be exchanges with other local communities, since different geographic areas produce different resources. But the overriding ideas are to produce as much as possible locally, and to re-posses the running of our own lives – divesting that power from globalist constellations that could not be less concerned about the welfare of the people. While some functions should be run by (reasonably sized) state or federal governments (or whatever you choose to call those entities), other functions are best run by moderately-sized communities. We can use the Jones model; there is no need to reinvent the wheel – it is round.

You are, hereby, invited to our new community party of local exchange, and your ideas for development of local communities are invited and welcomed. The currencies we trade in are: community spiritedness, neighbourliness, cash payments, bicycles, exchange of services, and probably additional currencies that you will introduce. We understand that globalist ventures seek to tax these currencies and exchanges, but we do not recognise their authority to do so. What values (emotional, intellectual and physical) we will retain when (not if) the present monetary system collapses is up to us.

Be healthy and come to the party!

Love,

Fernando Guevara

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