Much of my work and writing last year related to Mutual Aid. This has solidified my conclusions that our hope now is to continue and expand Mutual Aid projects across the county and world.
The greatest driver to build mutual aid groups is we will soon have no choice. It is increasingly clear our political system has failed us. Capitalism has failed us. Our healthcare industry is failing despite the valiant efforts of front line health workers. And most of all, environmental chaos will rapidly worsen.
There are times when I wonder if our faith bodies are failing us, too. Where is the church in general, to help us through these increasingly trying times? I’ve worked for my entire adult life to convince Quakers to stop owning personal automobiles. And failed to do so.
So I’ve been discouraged, but not surprised, at the lack of response I’ve been getting when trying to convince people of the evils and failure of capitalism. (see Evils of Capitalism). Discouraged to the extent that I didn’t have any more hope of convincing Friends about the need to dismantle capitalism than I did in convincing anyone to give up having a car. This is all the more discouraging because I know it will require spiritual power to help us through the coming times.
So I am intrigued by the idea of Religious Socialism that my friend Fran Quigley recently told me about. (Fran is director of the Health and Human Rights Clinic at Indiana University McKinney School of Law and a religioussocialism.org editorial team member. )
ABOUT US
The DSA Religion and Socialism Commission is pleased to announce the re-launch of its publication Religious Socialism.
If you’ve wondered what religion and socialism have to do with each other, we hope this site will be useful to you. It is dedicated to people of faith and socialism. As our community grows, we will use it to connect DSA members and to reach out to the larger group of faith-based social justice activists and thinkers.
HISTORY
The original Religious Socialism was founded by John Cort, a long time Christian Socialist writer and activist as well as co-chair of the Religion and Socialism Commission of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The publication was originally structured as a printed newsletter in 1977 and was in circulation for more than thirty years.
Quakers, social justice and revolution 
Here are a few links related to Mutual Aid to Stop the Enbridge Line 3 tar sands pipeline in Minnesota:
Here’s a link to Stop Line 3 that provides a number of different options, including supporting Honor the Earth, the Giniw Collective and Gitchgumi Scouts: https://linktr.ee/stopline3
MN350 has a nice essay on Mutual Aid here: https://mn350.org/2021/01/mutual-aid-as-part-of-just-transition/ as well as immediate requests here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yGn3f1S5ViWjBo7yHhXz5U2150vhYTO67X2ec1WJW-A/edit
Also see the Twin Cities Logistics Collective: https://www.twincitieslogistics.org/ “TLC hopes to disrupt legacies of colonialism through material and financial movement support. We dream of collective liberation, knowing that the only viable way to do so is through decolonization and mutual aid*. Our work is deeply rooted in the principle of solidarity, not charity.”
Thank you very much. I appreciate this information.