The shutdown is why we are here

"We thought we had given away to doctors and priests our ability to heal. But here it was, still in our possession… we were more than we had thought we were."

That’s the lesson of this government shutdown: It’s time for each of us to solve the problems in our own communities, to stop relying on those who have shown us they cannot do it.

The author of the above quote, 16th century explorer Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, was referring to how he and his fellow explorers had helped natives in what became the United States to heal from sickness. In doing so, they realized they possessed a tremendous capability to help their neighbors.

That is not unlike today, when the large investments we have made in government programs over the last 60 years continue to produce minimal results. I have seen it up close for decades, having sat in meetings with senators, members of the House, mayors, and local council members who talked emphatically about helping the most vulnerable among us but did not act accordingly.

That was one of the main factors behind our starting The Shared Humanity Project in 2020. The reason so many Americans believe that poverty is intractable is because we have looked in the wrong places for the solutions. The lesson of this government shutdown is to not look to government to do what you or your companies - or any group - can do.

If you do not think you are capable of this, heed those words of Cabeza de Vaca, for we are more than we think we are. You are the one, for example, who can increase access to healthy food and banking for those who need greater access. You can increase recreational opportunities for youth or help build partnerships that will reduce the daily violence they face. This guide will help, but you may be able to develop and implement ideas on your own just as well.

This shutdown reinforces on whom you ought to rely in order to make substantive progress in your community or a community nearby, and it's you.