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Community-driven solutions are the answer to what ails the nation. For far too long, we have been conditioned to look to Washington and the federal government to solve difficult challenges or pressing problems. This is contrary to our founding as a country and counterproductive to our future success.
In a recent radio interview I conducted with David Barton, I was reminded of the power and promise of community action. David shared with me the fact that the first four battles fought in the American Revolution – Lexington, Concord, the Road to Boston, and Bunker Hill – were all carried out by local communities standing up and taking action. In these critical early moments in the battle for independence, there wasn’t time to contact George Washington directly, nor was there opportunity to ask what the national command would suggest for a strategy.
Early patriots recognized they were fighting for their local community, their friends and their family. They were not going to sit around and wait. Their willingness to act locally proved to be priceless in their collective pursuit of freedom for our nation. The Rev. Jonas Clark rallied 70 men out of his church to face 700 British soldiers in what became known as the battle of Lexington. Rev. William Emerson gathered 300 locals to fight in what became the battle of Concord Bridge. Rev. Payson and Rev. Phillips organized a group of ragtag community members on the Road to Boston. Rev. Francis Willard pulled two companies out of his church for the epic battle near Bunker Hill.
Everybody was willing to fight local battles – because they knew that winning in their community was the only way to win the war for freedom. The same holds true today.
Unfortunately far too many Americans are fixated on national-level solutions and the idea that whenever we face a complex or difficult challenge, we must have Congress and the federal government solve it. Instead of looking to Washington – we need to look within.
Help, healing and real hope rarely, if ever, come from a top-down model or a one-size-fits-all approach. Bottom-up is better, and local decisions tend to deliver higher-impact solutions and more reliable, and sustainable, results. Whether the issue is education, health care, roads and transportation, serving the homeless or lifting those in poverty – dollars and decisions should be driven whenever possible to the local community level.
For example, there are currently over 92 federal programs that have spent trillions of dollars while doing little to actually end the cycle of poverty in America. While the federal government certainly has a role to play, community-driven solutions are far more likely to create upward mobility and self-reliance. In an affirmation of community-driven solutions, Dale Renlund observed, “The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.” The closer we get solutions to individuals and communities, the more tailored they will become, and the more effective they will be.
From our founding to today – community-driven solutions protect liberty, fuel freedom, and ensure the pursuit of happiness for all.
For Sutherland Institute, this is Boyd Matheson. Thanks for engaging – because principle matters.
This post is an edited transcript of Principle Matters, a weekly radio commentary broadcast on several radio stations across the country. The podcast can be at the link below.
Receive this broadcast each week directly via iTunes by clicking here.
