Jason, at FPR, posted a lighthearted essay about his belief that the word community is abused when anything other than Mayberry, RFD, is intended.
On The Promiscuous Use of "Community"
I don't agree. Natch. More to the point, Jason's idea of community can all too easily become a prison rather than a place of abiding peace and getting-over-it-all. I think of "To Kill A Mocking Bird", a great story about a small town and it's destructive prejudices. Small town and bigotry are all but synonymous in the American canon. Perhaps that is because bigotry makes for good stories. It is also true, as Jefferson observed, rogues rise to the top. In small towns, there are fewer checks on rogues, particularly rogues aligned with the primary political power. Put Dick Cheney in Mockingbird and Atticus would have ended up in jail as an enemy combatant.
Community, in Jason's meaning of the word, has much to offer us all. It may as well be made of unobtanium in practical terms. Which leaves us with creating, or synthesizing, communities where we can.
Jake
Oh.My.God. DW said this on the Promiscuous thread on FPR
ReplyDelete"As to the Middle Digit Accost: I am very glad you included it as an essential building block. It is a fine and imperative institution , absolutely vital to any community because a group comprised of only people who get along swimmingly is either a cult or delusional or disingenuous or so brain dead as to question sentience. Obstreperous Intercourse may be a sport but its vital nonetheless."
I wonder if DW, or anyone else at FPR, has a sense of irony?
Jake