On individuals and communities

I like to hear people argue about taxes and how money is spent.

It's good to have people paying attention to how much is being spent and what it's being spent on.

I listen to people complain about services and projects that are funded in their city, state, etc.. that don't do anything for them.

This country is a not just a country of individuals. It is a community. Let's not just look at the European immigrants who provided the Constitution that moved here, let's look at all the people who have lived in this land and how they did it.

Mobility was limited in those times in the absence of motor vehicles. Families typically stayed close to each other. People lived in the towns and villages their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins lived. If they did leave, they didn't usually go too far.

Was limited mobility the only reason people stayed together? I think not, especially in terms of tribal peoples, but also those who lived in towns and cities.

Community is a way of seeing oneself as part of a group. You are not just an individual, you are part of the group as well. People who take care of their needs and help each other when they have the ability and interest to do so.

Back then, the interest was usually familial, or necessity. People felt compelled to be helpful to each other so that their family members they cared about would be taken care of, as those same family members cared for them when they needed it.

Perhaps some one in the community wants to work but can't operate transportation for themselves. They want to keep contributing to the community but find it necessary to ask for help to do it.

Will you deny that one member the opportunity to work and contribute simply because you yourself might never use the assistance that is provided for the other? What if not now, but ten years from now, suddenly you need assistance? Will you suffer because no one wants to help you as you did not want to help others back then?

Of course, back then, technology made day to day life more physically difficult. People worked together and helped each other out because not only was it practical but because they valued everyone in the community. No one was left behind.

Technology has changed things. People are much more independent than before. Families live separated by thousands of miles and neighbors don't know who each other are anymore because technology makes it easy to live in a bubble. To talk to and directly interact primarily with only those we desire to interact with.

Those community values have taken a hit and once lost, it's hard to get them back into the minds of people who have become "me' oriented.

But, we still live together, we still share stores, and schools and common local resources. How will we decide in the future if our community allows some to be left behind?

After all, it's not me, is it?