October 17, 2023

Finding Commonality

At the end of our October 10, 2023 show, one listener suggested that the way to a more just society was to find commonality by stepping back from our egos, reaching across the divide, and finding common ground.  The word common, from the Latin words comm, meaning together and unis, meaning obligation, tells us that we are obligated to come together.   From the root comes many words:  commoning, commons, communal, community.  Commoning has as its foundation "one for all, all for one," sounding like the Georgia motto:  non sibi sed alliis:  not for themselves but for others.  Commoning works best at the local level when there is a commons for people to gather.  Community gardens and the Savannah squares were suggested as our commons, spaces belonging to the people that encourage direct participation, are without class distinction or struggle, share communal values, and have no restrictions to participation, such as entry fees, hours of operation, or other rules imposed by a governing authority,  The 2011 Occupy movement exemplified commoning:  gatherings were open to all, participatory democracy and consensus decision-making were practiced, and there was a commitment to non-violent problem solving.   Sadly, without commons, Occupy assembled on public spaces where, the bulldozers of government were able to remove them.