This is a post about family and politics. "Koopsen" is Rex's mom's maiden name, so most of his cousins on his mom's side have the last name Koopsen. I was inspired to write this blog after hanging out with Rex, his cousin Danielle and her daughter Lorelai (who is 2 and a half), and his cousins Dorothy and Carly (who are six and five respectively, I believe). We all went for a walk on a nature trail close to the "Koopsen Commune" (more on this later), and we had a total blast playing with the little girls in the creek, watching them play on the playground, and walking around just enjoying nature in general.
It made me realize how important family is in life, and it also made me realize how much the Communist theory of government would actually work if everyone in America (or any other potentially communist country) would treat each other the way the Koopsens do. Don't judge me yet - just hear me out.
Rex's mom has four brothers and sisters, and all but one of them live within two or three miles of each other in Portage. Two of her brothers built an apartment complex, and they both built their houses there. Her parents live in that same apartment complex, Rex's parents live about a mile away, and her little sister lives another mile away. Pretty much everyone convenes to hang out in the apartment complex, hereby referred to as the "Koopsen Commune" because so many Koopsens live there. The whole family lives practically together, with cousins being best friends and constantly gathering for meals with the extended family. This is way cool.
The reason that this relates to communism is because the Koopsen family shares EVERYTHING. Rex's Uncle Bill has a fishing boat, and Rex and his brothers can use it anytime (and frequently do). Dorothy will walk over to Uncle Ade's and jump on the trampoline whenever she wants. Joey will bring his chicken's eggs over to Grandpa and Grandma Koopsen's house so that they have fresh eggs for breakfast. Michelle (Rex's sister) is borrowing Uncle Bill's trailer next week to cart her stuff to Boston, and Rex and I are using it the week after that to move to Lansing. This summer Uncle Ade gave Rex and I a truck to use because it was "just sitting there." A couple families have campers, and they are always trading them around so that other people can use them.
Do you see what I mean? The family shares everything. The idea behind communism is that everyone would share the goods produced by the masses; everyone does their share and everyone reaps the benefits. This is what the Koopsens do. The reason that communism would never work on a large scale is that people are, by nature, selfish. They want to look out for themselves instead of looking out for the greater good of the group. I really feel like the Koopsen family all looks out for the greater good of each other, though, and no one looks at who might be contributing the most or least. It doesn't matter. They just share things as an extended family, and support each other in any way they can - no questions asked. It is inspiring. It makes me want to be communist a little bit...but only if everyone in America was a Koopsen.
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