What Is A Community ?
The Symbolic Construction Of Community gave me a clear idea of what community means.
- It exists as something for people ‘to think with’.
- It represents a melee of symbols.
- The commonality need not be a uniformity.
- Doesn’t integrate rather aggregates – not incorporate into a larger unit or coordinate rather gather into a whole.
- There is no cloning of behavior and ideas.
- Some communities do not really exist and are a mere rhetoric.
- Its a reality , a kinship , invested with all sentiment attached to kinship.
- Its more than oratorical abstraction , it hinges crucially on consciousness.
- It serves a similar need.
- It is malleable and it can accommodate people without losing their individuality.
Observations :
Observation 1 : So to belong to a community I needn’t change who I am . I can just be myself – which means a freedom to express myself in thought, word and deed. But this brings me to question. By belonging to a community do I get totalitarian control over my freedom? Every community has rules. Rules which every individual has to adhere to. Rules may vary from following a dress code to being an active member to pursuing a hobby or living in the same area etc .Rules may be verbal or electronic or written.
Observation 2 :
How are the thoughts of people belonging to a community? Do they think alike, share the same view or opinion ? Not necessarily. I can belong to a blogging community and write about the East. Another person can write about the West and belong to the same blogging community.Its not the content that we write that matters. To belong to a blogging community it is necessary to blog intermittently or rarely.
Observation 3 :
How real is it? I believe communities are present virtually or physically. A community can either be legal or illegal.
Observation 4:
There exists kinship. By kinship I mean a certain kind of affinity, a similitude. Without the emotional connection the person might as well cease to be called a member of the community. Can people of the same bloodline exist in the same community ? Yes. Can people of the same bloodline comprise a community. No. f all the members are of the same bloodline then they are called family and not community.A family is defined as “Those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family.”
Observation 5 :
How many people constitute a Community?Certainly no individual can stand like an island and proclaim himself as a community. Two perhaps ? There is no definitive answer after all. Seems like I need to put more thought into this one.
Observation 6 :
Why was the word Community created ? To create a sense of belonging and identity. The words of Mitsugi Saotome speak for themselves.
“If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.”
More Observations to come….
Joseann's Blog 