I attended an interest meeting on Tuesday evening regarding the development of the new Pulaski County Tribe and knew that I wanted to share some thoughts in response. I had some other things on my mind this week that I needed to work through first before I could properly process my response to this meeting and the concept of The Pulaski County Tribe.

I sat at the table as the newest resident to the community by far. My two and a half years in Pulaski County put me at least 8 years behind the next newest person, while some at the meeting have been residents for 60+years.

As conversation happened, I heard the depth of meaning underneath the carefully chosen words; a sense of loss, concern, and frustration connected with the current status of things and trajectory for the future of this community that we all call home.

When I was a new resident coming into the county a few years ago I was confused. There was a deep-rooted pride that obviously was connected to a legacy of vibrant and healthy communities. That was obvious from day one. As I got to know the community better I was introduced to the variety of amazing resources that were present here; parks, bike paths, the river, a rich history, and some businesses that seemed to be deeply woven into the identity of these towns.

The confusing part for me was that despite the hometown pride and the truly abundant resources, it appeared that there was a great deal of unspoken despair and fear about the future. The community seemed to be in a defensive posture, having witnessed a great deal of loss over the decades. Despite the possibility and the memory of strong community life, it seemed that reality was being revealed as a more dismal picture.

This unspoken anxiety and fear seemed to live beneath the surface of everything and motivated much of what shaped the community. A mentality of scarcity started to become clear to me.

“We don’t have what we used to! There’s not enough to sustain and support all of us! So I better do what I have to in order to make sure I’m ok.”

As a new person in town, I blindly ran into the invisible boundary lines of heavily defended spaces. As I questioned why unhealthy systems seemed to operate unchecked and continued to create broken relationships and fractured community, I received an education about power dynamics in the community.

What became clearer to me is that this once-dynamic and vibrant community fell victim to an ever-growing culture that asked: “what can I get out of this county?” The territory was carved up while power and influence were wielded in order to protect certain interests.

The greatest victim of the emerging culture was the sense of community. Broken relationships caused by fear and anxiety made “us and them” a more important distinction than “we”.

(as a new person in the community I can’t tell you how many times I was asked to pick a side. People didn’t know what to do with me because they didn’t know if I was on their side. It was difficult to navigate without the benefit of context.)

I know this is a lot to take from an outsider, but I say all of that to explain why the vision Brandi cast forth at the meeting on behalf of the Tribe was so powerful to me. She said quite a lot, and much of it was powerful and inspiring. But only one sentence needed to be spoken in order to get me on board. “We believe that we have to give more than we take.”

That’s the answer. Fear tells us that if I don’t fight to hold on to what I have and fight regardless of the damage done, I’ll be left with nothing. And that fear isolates us from one another. And the more isolated we are the more we fear each other.

I am excited and hopeful about this group. The focus is on the community. It was made clear that saying “somebody should do something about <fill in the blank> wasn’t going to be tolerated here. This is a group for those who stand up and say “I’m that somebody! What can I contribute?” This is the type of group I can get behind.

There are real challenges standing between this group and its goals. It will find that some people will jump on board in order to try and get something out of it. “How will this benefit me?” Others will love the idea of big change until it comes to their turn to let go of their sense of control. And they will push back and accuse the group of a variety of things. There are those who are comfortable or even benefit from the way things are currently and will see this group as a threat to their situation. I have no doubts that this group will be met will real resistance once change starts to occur.

Despite all that I remain hopeful. The vision of a healthy community comprised of caring citizens and responsible businesses is compelling. A group of committed people selflessly taking action, pushing back against the fear and anxiety, will give this community hope.

And that is something that is quite clear; this is a community eager and starving for something to hope in. We’re ready to hope. We’re ready to get to work. We’re ready to stop talking about “us and them”. We’re ready to look at all of us and declare boldly, “Pulaski County is my home, these people are my Tribe, and I’m going to make it the best place I possibly can!”

Thank you, Tribe, for the vision that will guide us to real change. Beyond the vision, everything else is just details to work out. So as the young people say these days, “let’s go!”

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