A Quest for Real Community

We humans are social animals. That is not new information. Even the ancients knew: it is not good for man to be alone. Studying ancient and classical history shows many examples of where banishment from society was the worst possible punishment.

That is because humans are made to live in a community.

Let me be clear: virtual communities cannot replace real, face-to-face communities. Virtual communities cannot provide meaning and fellowship in the same way. They certainly cannot serve as intermediate structures between the individual and an all-powerful government.

A virtual community is no substitute for the real thing.

In his 1953 book, “The Quest for Community,” Robert Nisbet argued that radical individualism caused communities to break down. This desire for individual autonomy has weakened family, church, clubs, groups, and associations.

As face-to-face communities have declined, people have flocked to virtual, online communities. Many see these as "communities for a new generation." In a face-to-face community, I come as I am. In virtual communities, I come as the image I want to project. 

In this social media world, we may have more “friends” than we could have in the face-to-face community. But, the quality of those friendships is so poor that sociologists have coined the phrase “migratory friendships.” This word describes digital friends who have lots of information about each other but do not know each other.

Our founders in America created a country that respected individual rights and liberties, but always in the context of the people. People united in communities and associations, which secured individual rights from an otherwise all-powerful government. As a result, you had a balance. When he visited America, Tocqueville praised the civic virtue of Americans that resulted in building hospitals, schools, churches, etc.

However, in recent times, "individual autonomy” has exceeded the idea of community in America. Not surprisingly, as radical individualism has grown, the power of government has grown. We need a new generation of community leaders and community networks for connecting with other humans, especially true for rural communities. We need a quest for real community.

For more information on neighboring, visit David Burton’s blog at www.we-are-neighbors.blogspot.com.