Essays from West of 98: The Meaning of Community
“A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other’s lives. It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves.” –Wendell Berry
Community has an inherent spirit of interconnected relationships. In this description of community, Berry expounds on the “membership” ideas that I wrote about last week. Members of a community are directly and indirectly affected by each other, both positively and negatively. New friends and family members add to our lives. We feel the absence when someone moves away or dies. When we spend money at a local business, we affect that business and its owners and employees. When we participate in a community group, we affect that organization and its mission.
Many of our impacts are seemingly small. Our spending at a local store is only a small portion of that store’s revenues (even my burrito purchases at Allsup’s). A small impact is not meaningless. The cumulative effect of many people making a small impact—financially or otherwise—can be enormous. A person living within a community has an influence on the community’s economy and culture through all those small impacts. That person is similarly influenced by all the other cumulative impacts around them.
No man is an island in a community, even if they want to be!
Yet, the natural course of humanity has trended in the opposite direction. Our economy and academic institutions have encouraged economic specialization. This has positive attributes, and in fact, it makes us more reliant on others to purchase goods and services that we need. Philosophically, though, it has created the opposite cultural mindset. Politicians and policy-makers often view us as economic automatons. Our worth is judged by our economic value. If we don’t contribute a distinctly identifiable economic value, we are often viewed with disdain. Consumer spending is viewed as a metric of economic success. We are encouraged to gather our economic value, spend money for the good of the economy, and let the rest of the world take care of itself.
This philosophy has rarely been stated better (not a compliment) than by Brad Wesley, villain of American cinematic classic “Road House.” The movie’s hero, Dalton, confronts Wesley about exploiting the people and businesses of Jasper to get rich. Wesley freely admits to it and says,
“I believe we all have a purpose on this earth. A destiny. I have faith in that destiny. It tells me to gather unto me what is mine.”
Thankfully, most people aren’t quite as bad as Brad Wesley, but it is still easy to get caught up in varying degrees of this mindset, particularly the consumerist aspects. It is so common, in fact, that there are multiple clichés that describe it. Some call it the “rat race.” Others call it “keeping up with the Joneses.” Call it whatever you like, but that’s where this points.
What if it doesn’t have to be this way?
It doesn’t. This does not require a wholesale rejection of modernity, either. It just requires an awareness that our actions do not take place in a vacuum. Brad Wesley boasted about getting rich, but as Red Webster (owner of the auto parts store) pointed out late in the movie, Wesley got richer while everyone around him got poorer.
We live in divisive times, but this ideas transcends divisions. A vast array of causes, spanning the political spectrum—from environmentalism to economic populism—recognize that people and place are impacted by larger forces and cumulative effects and that we should concern ourselves with one another. And in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest and he replies:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Our world has experienced a lot of adversity in recent years. Through it all, I see people searching for meaning and an opportunity to connect and positively impact one another. Our individual communities are a good place to start.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.