Comments on: If it takes a village, how do you get what it takes? http://www.julieleung.com/archives/1361 pictures and stories from the water's edge Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:08:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Patricia Taylor http://www.julieleung.com/archives/1361/comment-page-1#comment-1123 Patricia Taylor Fri, 01 Oct 2004 15:47:49 +0000 http://www.julieleung.com/wordpress/?p=1361#comment-1123 In the presence of recovering from the same thing Katherine and I have had since our return from Europe on Sunday, I am still not 100%, but reading this blog, Julie, is eye-opening. I grew up in the 50's when the neighborhood was the community. Mostly women were at home, tending the homefires and the children, if they had them. When I returned from living in Europe for 16 years to the America I found in 1990, no one was home. Kids in daycare, both parents at work, often, big empty houses with no one in them, was the norm. No one was home cooking, and no one had any time to concentrate on what makes life worth living: a sense of caring, community, candid discussions about things both mundane, yet necessary, and esoteric. A profound sadness came over me when I saw that "Abortion" was the first listing in the yellow pages. It seemed to me that a whole life pattern had been aborted, along with the community of which you speak. I want to be a part of your community, and I am through your blog. Thank you, and I'd love to talk politics with you! In the presence of recovering from the same thing Katherine and I have had since our return from Europe on Sunday, I am still not 100%, but reading this blog, Julie, is eye-opening. I grew up in the 50′s when the neighborhood was the community. Mostly women were at home, tending the homefires and the children, if they had them. When I returned from living in Europe for 16 years to the America I found in 1990, no one was home. Kids in daycare, both parents at work, often, big empty houses with no one in them, was the norm. No one was home cooking, and no one had any time to concentrate on what makes life worth living: a sense of caring, community, candid discussions about things both mundane, yet necessary, and esoteric. A profound sadness came over me when I saw that “Abortion” was the first listing in the yellow pages. It seemed to me that a whole life pattern had been aborted, along with the community of which you speak. I want to be a part of your community, and I am through your blog. Thank you, and I’d love to talk politics with you!

]]> By: Chris http://www.julieleung.com/archives/1361/comment-page-1#comment-1122 Chris Thu, 30 Sep 2004 20:17:43 +0000 http://www.julieleung.com/wordpress/?p=1361#comment-1122 I don't believe that the "village" is achievable these days. Way back when, the village was built on very deep common bonds. The Irish Catholics lived in the same neighborhood, the Italian Catholics in a different neighborhood, the German Protestants somewhere else. These bonds were built on centuries of shared heritage and deeply held belief systems. Of course, that segregation causes problems too. A community built around the local public school just isn't deep enough to be maintainable. It may be tight during a short term strife, a battle over zoning or something like that. But the community will act more like a project team. It will come together to address the common concern, and then disperse. I think we need to separate our living quarters from our community. The community will be found elsewhere - on the Web, in a coffee shop, in a volunteer community group, a homeschool support group, etc. Your home is just where you live. I'm happy if my neighbors don't do anything to irritate me :) I don't expect them to be a part of my community. I don’t believe that the “village” is achievable these days. Way back when, the village was built on very deep common bonds. The Irish Catholics lived in the same neighborhood, the Italian Catholics in a different neighborhood, the German Protestants somewhere else. These bonds were built on centuries of shared heritage and deeply held belief systems. Of course, that segregation causes problems too.

A community built around the local public school just isn’t deep enough to be maintainable. It may be tight during a short term strife, a battle over zoning or something like that. But the community will act more like a project team. It will come together to address the common concern, and then disperse.

I think we need to separate our living quarters from our community. The community will be found elsewhere – on the Web, in a coffee shop, in a volunteer community group, a homeschool support group, etc. Your home is just where you live. I’m happy if my neighbors don’t do anything to irritate me :) I don’t expect them to be a part of my community.

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