Community: a society of people having common rights and privileges, or common interests, civil, political, etc. or living under the same laws and regulations. From the Latin communitas, a fellowship, from communis, common.
Communicate: to impart to another or others, to give to another, to make known. From the Latin, communis, common.
Reference: Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary.
The scene above is a view of downtown Schuylkill Haven, PA. Today only a minority of us live in small towns. However, the stereotypic image of "community" is Smalltown, USA. Something very similar to this scene, with its tree-lined boulevard, park benches, fire alarm (and volunteer fire company to go with it), and its tidy row of working class homes.
This old image doesn't apply to most of us any longer. Even in Pennsylvania, where a larger percentage of the population is classified as rural than in any other state, most of us live in cities or in suburbs. Cities and Suburbs don't seem to promote a sense of community. Small towns and neighborhoods within cities do, but we are deserting them for 2 acre plots of abandoned farmland; and when we each get our 2 acre chunk we don't communicate with the folks on the 2 acres next door. Could the aimlessness that seems to have taken hold in American life be related to this?
It's ironic that we find ourselves clamoring for more individual freedom and safety and security all at the same time. We were warned of the dangers of democracy, or at least the American version of it, long ago when the French social philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) visited the young American democracy and assessed its pros and cons:
Not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but also clouds their view of their descendants and isolates them from their contemporaries. Each man is for ever thrown back on himself alone, and there is danger that he may be shut up in the solitude of his own heart.Democracy in America, 1840
We should realize that we can (and must!) create new community structures - humans are inherently social creatures. It will be interesting to see what structures take shape in the brave new, technological world we are devising. If you are interested in exploring the concept of community and what it means in our lives there are some references in the bibliography, or you can explore the online resources listed below.
Just a few examples of the many community resources on the Web:
And of course there are also biological communities, of which we are all a part, whether we realize it or not. Another term which has slightly different connotations, but is often used interchangeably with "biological community" is ecosystem.
References:
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