When I first moved to the country I wanted to get involved in something. I wanted to become part of the community. I wanted to belong to, and add to, something greater than myself.
In small town America that usually means joining a Church or your local volunteer fire department but since I'm an agnostic bordering on atheism, the local Church was out. I'm also old and out of shape so the fire department was out.
So that left the Odd Fellows who have a local chapter close to my home.
While I may not always agree with who my local chapter supports as an organization and what they do butI know that I am making a small difference in the life of my community somehow. A homeless person manages to snuggle under blankets provide by the Odd Fellows on a cold winter's day, a child gets a scholarship, someone gets a warm meal.
Today we don't think much about mutual aid unless we are giving funds to some charity or faced with some sort of natural disaster. Many of us don't think about mutual aid at all. It's really hard to imagine a time when education was not a given, or when there were not large insurance companies to care for your family if you should die or become disabled - these fraternal organizations provided that care.
In fact, a mere 100 years many of the old age homes, orphanages and insurance was provided by your local community organizations. They may be called upon to do that again.
Well we never know what the future holds...the only way through something is together. Cooperation is beneficial not only to the individuals that are touched by it, but for the community itself. We saw this first hand during the recent pandemic as we helped each other in so many little ways.
I am a realist. Keeping on the path we are on as a society will only lead to environmental and economic devastation.
I am not however a "Doom and Gloomer." I make my living by analyzing trends, by being able to take several pieces of the puzzle and fit them all together to determine the overall picture. It's not a bright future.
However out of "disruptions" can come great positive change. The "Black Death" caused millions of deaths some 700 to 800 years ago but also lead to the other throw of the feudal system, the Protestant Reformation and better rights for woman. Even the Covid-19 pandemic changed things as wages; which had been stagnant for years, increased and millions of employees found that they were able to work from home with the same - or better productivity - as they had in the office.
In Dystopian fiction we always see the world as either a wasteland ruled by warlords or some garish neon lit dying city choked by unchecked capitalism. Even though it does create some cool visuals, it's not a world anyone would wish for.
However in the Utopian vision of the future, the world is run as a democracy with mutual aid societies of various sorts serving the role of government organizations in a variety of ways.
There is a saying that "Everything old is new again." Welcome to the Odd Fellow's my friends.
Many would argue that what I am advocating for is more of a charity organization than a "true" Mutual Aid system. It's been stated that Mutual Aid societies are not the same as a charity. That a charity tends to be a one way relationship between the giver and the person receiving that aid. Or that they may have requirements for that person receiving that aid. They would be right.
Groups like the Odd Fellows however evolved into charities; originally designed to meet the collective needs of the community. In the Odd Fellows case they are command to "visit the sick, bury the dead, educate the orphan and relieve the distressed." They were one of the first fraternal organizations to allow woman and African Americans into their rank.
It would not take much for them to return and serve their original purpose and ensure that all people - regardless of class, sex, orientation or color. Odd Fellows have always been "part of the community and of the people."
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| Anarchists have great beards |
Recently I was introduced to anarchist thought, while I'll be the first to admit that I've a lot more reading to do, I do find it interesting and something that works well in small communities and organizations.
While I may not agree fully with the philosophy, there is enough "meat on the bones" for me to continue my studies. Anarchists talk consistently about mutual aid societies and helping the community, and throughout history have put those plans into action successfully.
Again you may be asking what does this have to do with a society like the Odd Fellows, to which I reply....everything.
In today's world where we are divided into ever smaller tribes, marginalized, commercialized. Where our very data is sold to feed the algorithm which determines our movies, our music and our news it's nice to step back and remember the humanity.
That's one of the reasons I joined the Odd Fellows because it is non sectarian and non political and pushes humanity forward. You can feel free to join the Moose, the Masons, or even start your own "secret society." The point is that the more you learn about the needs of your community, the more you are able to help it.
Because frankly the world is going to need community organizations and mutual help societies more than ever in the future. Because you too can make a small difference in the life of your community as well as the life on the indivdual, and we will get to the point where a combination of bad government, global warming, another disease or consumerism will tip the scales and a major disruption will occur.
It's about time we imagined the positive. It's about time we acted upon it. It's about time to put ideas into action.
So this is a plea for the young people to get involved with us "old guys" and learn about how your local fraternal organization is making a change in the world...and teach us some new tricks along the way.
So true.
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