Collective Action of a Community

byFrenchfries5

1.5K followers

6 years ago

Have you ever heard of a barn raising? I'm a farm girl from North Dakota, so I know the term but have never been fortunate enough to be part of a "raising." The Amish are famous for their barn raising. Here is the definition of a Barn Raising....

"A barn raising… can be said to be a collective action of a community, where a barn for an individual is built collectively by a group from a community. A barn was an essential building for a farmer for shelter for the animals and storing feed for human and animal consumption. As you can imagine these massive structures are too large to be constructed by one person and extremely expensive. Construction of the barn was where family and community stepped in for a "Barn raising" and made this important building possible for the farmer. The community would construct the barn over several days without demand for compensation. "

I was once a lucky girl to be part of a barn tear down, however. I think I was in 5th grade and my parents decided they were going to build a house of reclaimed barn wood - before reclaimed barn wood was the in-thing. It was just a cheap way to build a house. My parents pulled my brother and me out of bed before the sun came up and met up with my cousins, aunts, and uncles at an old farm and we started to destroy that aged monster.

Of course, we got a verbal lashing if we broke a board! I remember how hard we worked and my dad was the true taskmaster. I think my mom was the only casualty, stepping on an old rusty nail. We had a lot of laughs, camaraderie, and sense of family.

So why do I bring this up? Well, I am sad because I feel that we are losing our sense of camaraderie and giving in to "what's in it for me?" Why, is this? Perhaps the very thing we do - technology. Our kids sit in the house with videos, smartphones, connectivity everything.... from childhood. Heck, even my cats are hooked on my iPhone - give them a good mouse YouTube and they will watch for hours - sad, but funny! Not that this is all bad, but we have traded some very good stuff for other good stuff. What's worse are those that prey on others in the name of "generosity." As our world becomes more global people seem to be less bothered by who they hurt. Having a conscience seems passe'.

At Wealthy Affiliate, I have witnessed camaraderie. Those who rise above and help those needing help. Many chiming in and helping out one person get through a sticking point. Yes, I see and hear the comments about how not all responses are completely accurate, but everyone hopefully responds with good intentions. My mom taught elementary school for 42 years and her favorite phrase "it takes a village to raise a child." Right!

I challenge each of you to be part of your own "Barn Raising."