51 Ways to Spark a Commons Revolution

Check out "51 Ways to Spark a Commons Revolution: What you can do, alone and with others, to share life" by Jay Walljasper. Click here:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/a-resilient-community/51-ways-to-spark-a-commons-revolution

My favorites include:

1. Challenge the myth that all problems have private, individual solutions.

3. Take time to enjoy what the commons offers. As the radical Brazilian educator Paulo Freire said, “We are bigger than our schedules.”

6. Become a mentor—officially or informally—to people of all ages. Be prepared to learn as much as you teach.

12. Treat commons spaces as if you own them (which, actually, you do). Keep an eye on the place. Tidy things up. Report problems or repair things yourself. Initiate improvement campaigns.

14. Get out of the house and spend some time on the stoop, the front yard, the street—anywhere you can join the river of life.

17. Conduct an inventory of local commons. Publicize your findings and suggest ways to celebrate and improve these community assets.

24. Barter. Trade your skill in baking pies with someone who will fix your computer.

27. Watch where your money goes. How do the businesses you patronize harm or help the commons?

29. Oppose cutbacks in public assets like transit, schools, libraries, parks, social services, police and fire, and arts programs.

31. Take every opportunity to talk with elected officials and local activists about the importance of protecting the commons. Do the same with citizens groups, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, professional societies, and business leaders.

39. Roll up your sleeves to restore a creek, wetland, woods, or grassland, or beautify a vacant lot.

44. Patronize and support your public library.

50. Launch a commons discussion group or book club with your neighbors and colleagues, or at your church, synagogue, or temple. (onthecommons.org)

Read all 51: Click here: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/a-resilient-community/51-ways-to-spark-a-commons-revolution