I’ve been somewhat traumatized and also stimulated by some of my activities recently, and I think I’ve got an idea on how I might jump into this here blog-o-sphere.

First, the visit to the Social Security office. We weren’t the only white people there, but we were in the  minority. Which is probably good for our humility. Something’s wrong though. There was just this rumble of bad attitude and minor bad behavior; two armed guards searched us at the door and hovered over us. I guess I was thankful. There was a certain clubiness to it all, with a lot of the service/money seekers (yes, ourselves included) obviously at home, like they were at one their regular neighborhood stops, bitching about the stupidity of the government and the bureaucrats who served them. Outside, in the cold mist, the beneficiaries of the system stoked up on their smoke of choice and continued the negative commentary. No one seemed to have a job to go to. I heard myself ranting on the drive home. I was shocked by myself. Where did I go wrong….Later I read a well-done piece put out by the Center for the American Experiment, A Kitchen Table  Conversation about Minneapolis and its Future. Mitch Pearlstein led the Mayor, Peter Bell and Gary Cunningham in a conversation about the  intractable  problems on the north side. The “sides” of the argument seemed to be what government should/could do–with the Mayor listing the efforts–and what was personal or community responsibility–the Bell tolling on this theme– and Cunningham weighing in on both sides. The conversation, or at least its rendering, was civil and interesting, and there were some areas of agreement that jarred me, and some insights–Bell’s mainly–that provoked me, like his notion that because somone says something–rap music or falling down pants– is a cultural thing doesn’t mean it isn’t disrespectful and counterproductive. This publication should be read by all..,

And I didn’t top it all off with a stroll down (up?) the Nicollet Mall to replenish my pique and angst about such falling down pants and the misbehavior of those off whom they are falling ,or the drunks waiting happily for a ride to detox or suburbanites driving through our red lights because our red lights don’t really mean anything from a cultural point of view. I ask you, can we rank these various forms of thuggishness as anything but equal? No, I didn’t take my stroll from 12th Street to the River, but my wife did and she came back and did a little ranting herself….

And now, finally, the idea. I once ,somewhat patronizingly,  explained to Citizens League head Sean Kershaw that ideas trumped process, particularly process that involved drinking beer and pondering the big picture. I suppose I was wrong. But I’m still devoted to ideas and doing things that work, and, even as a nearly extinct species, I am frustrated and concerned about the desperation and defeat that characterizes a major portion of what is my city and the depression that sets in when nothing seems to work and when fair-minded men like Cunningham, Rybak and Bell can only call for more government efforts and at the same time say nothing will really work unless the community takes charge. Both sides are right, of course, and maybe something coming in from left field could help generate progress and hope……..

The idea: every church, mosque and every cultural institution on the northside should form Citizen Anonymous groups, open to all on a weekly basis, based on the AA model of service, unity and recovery–and the primary requisite, anonymity. The only requirement for membership, young or old, is to admit that one’s life has become unmanageable, in a community and cultural sense, and that the only responsibility of the group is to help others in the community to acknowledge the poison of  family dysfunction, crime and ignorance and a willingness to work together as living antidotes to that environment. Everyone gets to tell his story, his or her community-a-logue or bad environment narrative, and no one judges anyone, and everyone gets to go home having had a chance to share the experience in a place that doesn’t demand gang colors or  tired social service strategies. The only expense of this operation is a few bucks tossed in a coffee can to pay for the heat and light. No picnics, no rally for Christ or Allah, just a Circle of Friendship, and then everyone says a prayer for peace. I suppose the parallels aren’t perfect but you get the idea.

I had another idea about Charity a few years ago. i couldn’t quite articulate my take on the subject, which makes me  think that possibly I didn’t have much of a take. Reading my new idea here, I am afraid I may be grasping at straws in my own concern and desperation. But I’ve seen miracles worked by people who just talked about themselves and hoped that they could lead a better life. Better than complaining about the bureaucrats, I say.

Submitted with gusto,

C.N.

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