Auroville
The question often comes up, what environment would allow us to easily embody our beliefs and lead a life free of hypocrisy. Communities are an excellent, even if not the only solution. The gathering of diverse people based on a similarity in their aspirations and interests forms a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. One of the most successful attempts at forming such a community is Auroville, located in southern India.
Auroville came into existence in 1968 and, at that time, comprised largely of the followers of the Mother. The Mother was a French disciple of the Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo who became a spiritual leader in her own right. The Mother wanted Auroville to be a city of human unity and international understanding and she formed the Auroville Charter:
1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring toward future realizations.
4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.
Although the Mother’s Charter is almost exclusively spiritual in its content, almost from the very beginning the citizens of Auroville added a strong earth-care focus to the founding ideals of the community.
Today, Auroville has grown into a community of almost 2000 people from nearly 30 different countries. The main township consists of four zones at the center – the industrial, cultural, residential and the international. This is surrounded by an afforested green belt. The town is divided into about 80 ‘sub-communities’ of various sizes, separated by village and temple lands.
The citizens of Auroville are encouraged to take part in any activity that is in accordance with the community’s ideals. This does include profit-making business as well. The activities of the people include afforestation, organic agriculture, educational research, health care, village development, renewable energy, town planning and cultural services. The township now organically grows about 40% of its food and generates 35% of its own electrical and thermal energy.
Beginning with duty to the community, this is something that is clearly evident within their society. From a broad perspective, this is an idea that lays the foundation for how they built
Trois-Rivieres is a place of cultural, economic, and physical diversity. Located in a country with a deep history, which is also growing into modern times, Trois-Rivieres shows its 375-year-old history by contributing to modern development. Economically, Trois-Rivieres has many resources, but the main economic resource is manufacturing which is always changing. In particular, the St. Lawrence River is connected to the three-armed delta that gave Trois-Rivieres its name. The natural vegetation is as diverse as the city as it ranges from forests to grasslands. Trois-Rivieres is small city with much to offer.
Curfew laws provide greater safety for the residents of the city. A survey was conducted by the U.S. conference of mayors in 1995 stated that 86% of the cities believed that applying the curfew law for the youth helped make their streets safer for their residents (USCM). with more people outside being fatigued or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, curfews can help teenagers stay away from the greater risk that can come as hours gets later states Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D., a psychologist writing for Psychology Today (Hatter).
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Safari the Globe. “France: Culture and Identity.” Safari the Globe. Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.
... adding a new law will not change anything. When teens are out after curfew, they are committing a crime, and therefore by default, adding to the list of juvenile criminals. Consequently, curfews do not decrease crime rates.
Compared to other countries, France’s economy is the fourth largest in the world. France is a very industrialized nation, yet it has kept some of the cultural characteristics that contribute to its old-world charm. The economy is “exceptionally diversified” (“Economic Structure”, 1). It produces everything from aircrafts to pharmaceuticals.
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As a matter of fact, in some cases, applying curfew laws have actually increased juvenile crime rates. Teens begin to associate police officers with the curfew, and police officers begin to see a...
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