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Commitment to community is a requirement for contemporary Americans and vital to its survival. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the unselfish act of sharing: from a cup of sugar to a wealth of information to the guardianship of all children involved and the protection of every individual in that said community. Whether that community consists of the “Classic Neighborhood, those with a common set of goals, or those who share a common identity” the thread that holds this matrix together is always woven into the shared identity as well as responsibility of all involved. (Redmond, 2010). A community cannot continue to exist through the will of withdrawn individuals who arms only embrace themselves and have no involvement whatsoever with neighbors one door away.
Ideas and social networking has evolved to fight the constant moral erosions and sense of obligation that ceased to exist in many American communities and small towns. Community is the idea of guardianship and service outside of oneself; therefore, it is in direct opposition to greed and the self-preservation movement of me, myself, and I.
The oldest social law of responsibility to oneself has made a comeback in modern times with a twist. Jean-Jacques Rousseau stated, “The oldest of all societies, and the only natural one, is that of the family; yet children remain tied to their father by nature only so long as they need him for their preservation.” (Rousseau). As of now that twist to be explained has expanded into a preservation bubble more so for the individual than one’s own family. The twist is not a new concept, but it is “Gesellschaft” that becomes the dominant cancer that erodes the very ideal of community.
The theory of the Gesellschaft deals with the ar...
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... the engine that transfers society intact from age to age. Preservation of the community is the preservation of oneself.
Should the most selfish elite individual take heed and meditate on the ideology behind community, he/she may awaken to the fact that many persons looking after one person has more advantages and a better survival rate than one trying to preserve one. The needs of the one will never outweigh the needs of the collective group. In the end individuality inevitably leads to self-destruction; therefore, commitment to community is a requirement for contemporary Americans and vital to its survival.
Works Cited
Redmond, A. (2010, 12 20). PowerPoint on Community. Sociology 2400. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Rousseau, J.-J. (n.d.). Book I of The Social Contract.
Tonnies, F. (1957). Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Michigan State University Press.
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...ment and the people, more Americans can see the equality promised them: equality of opportunity. Only through community, meaning effort from both citizens and government, can inequality be resolved. No one-sided approach can rectify a situation that envelops all of society. Government must set aside partisanship in order to produce targeted legislation that addresses the declining transportation, education, and economic infrastructure. Meanwhile, the community must realign their ideals and realize that together these problems can be solved. However, as long as materialism and overt individualism dominate the community and dysfunction and gridlock have a foothold in government, the schism between rich and poor will continue to grow. The two sides will “live increasingly separate lives” (Sandel), and the goal of economic equality slips father and farther from repair.
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