An Open Letter to the Community
Happy May Day, everyone. Welcome to the first, but hopefully not last, issue of Sowing Community.
Well, a brief introduction feels appropriate. This is the community outreach project of Feed the People Omaha. It is an attempt to collect and disseminate information about resources that already exist within Omaha. On top of that, we are also hoping to include pieces by thoughtful writers- both within and outside of the Feed the People organization- to aid in the creation of a robust leftist current in the political and social culture of Omaha. The ultimate goal of this endeavor being, obviously, revolution.
Now, revolution does not happen overnight, and a zine will not be the downfall of capitalism— capitalism will be its own hangman. Revolutions happen only when class consciousness has evolved beyond our simple political identities (just a democrat, just a republican, just an American). The tricky part is that a revolution can cut in either direction: egalitarian or dictatorial. What shape a revolution takes cannot be determined by us or anyone else. We can only provide the framework and inspirations for our idea of a better world.
With that in mind, this zine, in all its ramshackle glory, is an attempt to expound the benefits of mutual aid and solidarity— to illustrate that a society built upon these ideals is not only viable, but potentially beneficial to all of humanity and not just a select few.
To badly paraphrase a metaphor by Éliseé Reclus: the seed of revolutionary thought is planted in each one of us. It may seem dormant, but it is constantly evolving, growing, even when it can't be seen. The seed is oppressed by the soil, but that oppression feeds the seed. Though it is being fed, the dirt cannot provide everything the seed needs to thrive. Water trickles down to the seed, and the warmth of sunlight can be felt even under the layers of repression. The seed grows stronger through their nourishment. Eventually the seed erupts from the earth, breaking through the oppression in a glorious revolution. The seed then declares its presence to the world; ready to soak in all its pleasures.
Feed the People hopes that Sowing Community, along with our food distribution efforts, will be the warmth of the sunshine and the droplets of water to our revolution: a guide to help the seeds along the egalitarian path and into a harmonious communist future.
So, here we go. Should be fun.
Erik Thompson 5/1/21