08/20/2026
On Tuesday, I attended a community panel hosted by the Rutherford County Democratic Party, and Doug Barrick made a point that has stayed with me.
I didnāt write down his exact words, so I wonāt attempt to quote him, but what I took away from what he said was this:
We want strong communities and strong systems, but too often we expect somebody else to do the work required to build and sustain them.
We want organizations to meet needs. We want nonprofits to help people. We want churches to serve their communities. We want good schools, responsive local governments, thriving towns, resources for struggling families, opportunities for young people, and people ready to step in when someone falls through the cracks.
But who is somebody? Who volunteers? Who serves on the committee? Who brings the food? Who builds the ramp? Who makes the phone calls? Who organizes the fundraiser? Who lends their professional expertise? Who sees a need and says, āI can help with that?ā
Itās easy to look around at our communities, our state, or our country and feel discouraged. Itās easy to ask, āHow did things get this bad? Why isnāt somebody fixing this? What are we supposed to do?ā Eventually, āsomebodyā has to be us.
That doesnāt mean running yourself ragged. It doesnāt mean giving away money you donāt have or sacrificing every free hour of your life. People have jobs, children, health concerns, financial limitations, caregiving responsibilities, and a hundred other perfectly legitimate reasons to have boundaries around what they can give.
You do not have to do everything. You never need to set yourself on fire to keep everyone else warm, but imagine what our communities would look like if more of us decided to do something.
An hour, skill, idea, meal, ride, phone call, donation, or a Saturday morningā¦ A willingness to show up.
And maybe most importantly, a willingness to care about something even when it doesnāt directly affect us or the people we love. Because communities cannot thrive when everyone retreats into a bubble of āme and mineā and waits for somebody else to carry everything outside of that bubble.
The same small group of people cannot hold up an entire community forever. We need fresh hands and fresh ideas. Different experiences and diverse talents.
We also need people willing to bring those things with a genuine spirit of service. There is a difference between walking into a space and saying, āHereās what Iām good at. Where can I help?ā and arriving with an agenda already written and expecting everyone else to fall in line.
That doesnāt mean we shouldnāt challenge old ways of doing things. We absolutely should. Communities grow because people bring new perspectives, question what isnāt working, and imagine what could be better, but our intentions matter.
Are we trying to use what we have to move our community forward, or are we trying to use our community to move ourselves forward?
Itās okay to benefit from the community youāre helping build. We should want communities that support us, nurture us, keep us safe, give us opportunities, and make our lives better. Thatās part of what community is, but personal benefit cannot be the only reason we show up.
The goal isnāt to make ourselves bigger within our communities. The goal is to leave our communities stronger because we were part of them. A thriving community isnāt built by a handful of people doing everything. Itās built by a whole lot of people being willing to do something. š«¶
So much to think about after that panel discussion with Anderson Clayton, LaKesha Womack for Congress, and so many more!
