September 2025
Much has been noted about the breakdown of civil discourse and the rise of political violence. Some, but not all, of this can be laid at the feet of our divisive president, who seems to think that it's his job to divide the country rather than unite it. In fairness to his delusions, we did elect him twice . But the fissures in our country have been long-standing before the arrival of Trump. And in spite of America being touted as a Christian nation, there is little in our political lives that embrace the primary Christian values of community and inclusion.
I don't know what caused the lack of empathy that had us devolve into tribes rather than evolve into true community. Maybe the need to feel included is engrained in our DNA, and tribalism is an easier path to this than community. Maybe the concept of The Other overrides our feelings toward the unity spoken by our wisest philosophies and religions.
The religious writer Thomas Moore devotes an entire chapter of his book Ageless Soul to friendship and community. After discussing the importance and advantages of friendship, he relates how anthropologists sometimes use the Latin word communitas to “put a spin on the idea of community.” In contrast to a common use of the term, Moore posits that community, communitas, is not “a collection of people who think alike or even have a strictly common purpose.” Rather he sees it in a different light:
“The joy of community [comes] in the simple pleasure of being together with people who have sublime values, who want to share their talents, and who love humanity, the ultimate community that embraces the others..."
“Communitas...refers to a gathering of people who are so varied in their makeup - multifaceted, diverse, free, and articulate – that they can be open with others, too...a deep orientation toward life that is not tightly bordered by a rigid and anxious sense of self...
“Communitas has an outward orientation. Its gesture is an extended arm ready to shake a hand or embrace a body...”
Maybe we just all need more food and music in our lives - but in environs that take us out of our individual selves. This weekend, I was blessed with two experiences that made me feel "community". The first was a music festival, Willie Nelson's Outlaw Tour, that I attended with my brother at the PNC Bank Arts Center about an hour from my home. The second was a Sunday brunch with my wife at a crowded, boisterous diner just a few minutes away in the center of town. Both "venues" had a wide variety of personalities and a wide range of ages, including families with young children. Both were filled with energy and camaraderie. Both left me with a feeling of well-being, a sense that in spite of all, there was much good in this world.