"The bleak future facing many parts of rural America is enough to make you weep – or get to work."

I confess to thinking little about the rural side of the story, primarily because I harbor no desire to be rural. But one can't help thinking about the other side of the coin, especially while out in the country.

Speak Your Piece: Dry Your Eyes, Revitalize, by Timothy Collins (Daily Yonder)

... So, let’s turn the idea of subsistence on its head and consider an alternative for rural communities. Can we envision a basic, but clear public and private commitment to provide everyone with tools for a comfortable life? Can we assure that basic human needs will be filled: food, shelter, clothing, health care, education and fulfilling life’s work with adequate wages?

Subsistence — defined here as treading lightly on the earth while living a good life — can be a positive alternative and a lifestyle choice supported by rural communities and state and federal policymakers.

Let’s banish the notion of global competitiveness as the primary goal for rural areas and communities. Let’s focus on capacity building and improving the quality of life. We need to create jobs with adequate pay for bountiful, but sustainable subsistence. We need to consider the crucial importance of reversing environmental damage and building small, manageable, and sustainable communities.