Community: Laying the Foundation

--The Original--

People might be the most intelligent of all of the creatures on this earth, but they are also some of the most vulnerable. Long ago man learned that the best way to combat that vulnerability was to seek safety in numbers. Not only is it hazardous for one man to stand alone in a physical sense, but the same could be said about standing alone in a social sense. Since man has long huddled together in tribal comfort those who, for various reasons, find themselves outside that inclusion are looked upon with suspect and criticism. Communities give people the opportunity to function without the stress of undue exposure and with the added benefit of having a history of learning to draw upon. This allows an individual more time and energy to grow and develop and then to successfully pass these life skills on to the next generation. Communities are the structure and stability that we build our future upon.

It is imperative that human being be given the opportunity to learn from one another and, whenever possible, to build upon another’s efforts. For we lack instinct to guild us in our survival efforts and must rely instead on the care and teaching garnered from our community. In the Ending Poem, the authors Rosario Morales and Aurora Levins Morales speak of building that foundation one brick at a time when they write, “The table has a cloth woven by one, dyed by another, embroidered by another still. I am a child of many mothers. They have kept it all going all civilizations erected on their backs. All the dinner parties given with their labor” (pg 96). Our communities are not just for our comfort, but they are the pathways to our future.

When we live within a community, we are encouraged to tread onward and upwards by others and by example of their efforts. A single individual, without the emotional or historical support of a community can easily get discouraged during times of hardships. Without tales of how past difficulties are overcome, or without an offer of the occasional helping hand, difficulties loom large and insurmountable. Maya Angelou describes this foundational labor in her essay, Reclaiming Our Home Place. When Angelou speaks of why the South is important to African Americans she writes, “From a past rooted in pain, we rise. Bringing the gifts that our ancestors gave, we are the hope and the dream of the slave” (137). When we feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, we feed on that momentum and on those dreams and use it to fuel our forward motion.

There is strength in knowing who we are and a community helps us to define ourselves both in its refection and in its tasks. If we have a better idea of what we are about, what we are capable of and what is expected of us, then we can move to the future with surer steps and a steadier pace. Each day of our lives spent with those we rub shoulders with, builds a clearer image of our own identity. In his essay Blaxicans, Richard Rodriguez suggests that who we are is a conglomerate of our past when he writes, “Mexicans used to say that Mexico, the country of my ancestry, joined two worlds, two competing armies. Jose Vasconcelos, the Mexican educator and philosopher, famously described Mexicans as la raza cosmic, the cosmic race.” (121). He embraces this understanding again when he writes “I come to you as a man of many cultures. I come to you as Chinese. Unless you understand that I am Chinese, then you have not understood anything I have said.” (124). If we are going to fit within our community we need to understand what defines them and then, ultimately, what defines us for then we can recognize our path as well.

I come from a family of hard working, stubborn Dutch Farmers. When my great grandparents arrived from the Netherlands, they came with determination to work as hard as they must to build a good life for their family, as family was their treasure and their wealth. Whether it was breaking sod, toiling in the hot South Dakota sun, or caring for stock in sub-zero cold, they stubbornly did whatever needed to be done to support this family. When the dust bowl decimated my grandfather’s own farm, he packed up his family and belongings into horse drawn wagons, and headed west to find that land of milk and honey. He built a new life for them by leaving the familiar and searching the horizon for hope. He left farming and started a mom and pops grocery, learning new skills, facing new challenges, pouring in a lot of hard work and endless hours. My Father was an entrepreneur and started a video court reporting firm before there was even such a thing in the state of Washington. He had to break new ground, open new doors and work through allot of resistance, but he persisted and his business grew along with his family. When the baton was passed to me, I used that same determination and work ethic to build my own home based business to support my family while allowing me the time and availability to raise them. Whenever I am discouraged or am faced with looming obstacles, I don’t have to look too far to find my bearings and motivation…it is right there in my heritage.

Communities are our foundational structure. We are as stable as it is well laid. It is humbling for some to have to give credit to others in explanation of how and why they arrived where they did, but none of us are an island. My Dutch grandmother would say that soup made with one ingredient lacks interest and flavor but, a soup with many additions is rich and hearty. It is better to give credit to what is obvious and to gratefully share credit for the grand design of our life; for communities are the structures that we build upon and they are often what keep us standing.

--The Revision--

People might be the most intelligent of all of the creatures on this earth, but they are also the most vulnerable. Long ago, humanity learned to combat that vulnerability by seeking safety in numbers. One person alone in a physical sense proves dangerous enough, but standing alone in a social sense also swarms with dangers of its own. Since humankind first huddled together in tribal comfort, those within that comfortable huddle looked upon those without with a mixture of suspicion and criticism. For human community gives people the opportunity to function without the stress of undue exposure and provides the added benefit of a history from which to draw. This history allows an individual within the community more time and energy to develop and then to successfully pass on life skills to the next generation. Community creates the structure and stability upon which our future rests.

Human beings must receive the opportunity to learn from one another and, whenever possible, to build upon the efforts of his or her forbears. Humans lack instinct as a guide in survival and rely instead on the care and teaching garnered from their community. In the “Ending Poem,” authors Rosario Morales and Aurora Levins Morales speak of building that foundation of community one brick at a time when they write, “The table has a cloth woven by one, dyed by another, embroidered by another still. I am a child of many mothers. They have kept it all going all civilizations erected on their backs. All the dinner parties given with their labor” (96). Human communities exist not just for the comfort of one generation, but also for the comfort of those who come after—community is the foundation upon which new generations build.

A single individual, without the emotional or historical support of a community, easily grows discouraged during times of hardship. Without lessons about overcoming past difficulties, or an occasional helping hand, even minor hardships loom large and insurmountable. Maya Angelou describes this foundation of past difficulty and helping hands in her essay, “Reclaiming Our Home Place.” When Angelou speaks of the South’s importance to African Americans, she writes, “From a past rooted in pain, we rise. Bringing the gifts that our ancestors gave, we are the hope and the dream of the slave” (137). When humans feel a part of something bigger, they feed on that momentum, those dreams from the past, and use it to fuel their efforts in the face of adversity. That sense of history and community provides humanity with a sense of stability, even when life seems in shambles.

Strength comes from knowing one’s community, as well as one’s place in that community. Strength exists in possessing a sense of self-identity. If humanity owns the knowledge of its meaning, its capabilities, and the expectations surrounding it, then humanity can move into the future with surer steps and a steadier pace. For, every day one person continues to rub shoulders with another is just one more step to a clearer knowledge of identity. In his essay “Blaxicans,” Richard Rodriguez points to the reality of community being a conglomerate of the present and the past when he writes, “Mexicans used to say that Mexico, the country of my ancestry, joined two worlds, two competing armies. Jose Vasconcelos, the Mexican educator and philosopher, famously described Mexicans as la raza cosmic, the cosmic race” (121). Rodriguez embraces this understanding again when he writes “I come to you as a man of many cultures. I come to you as Chinese. Unless you understand that I am Chinese, then you have not understood anything I have said” (124). Identity relies not only upon past communities, but present communities and experiences as well—the past and the present will become the rich stew for the future. Furthermore, this rich stew of experiences and history will blend together to form the individual of the present—the food of identity and the fuel to feed our future.

I come from a family of hard working, stubborn Dutch farmers. For the Dutch, stubbornness is not a character fault, but a characteristic from the Dutch community that has empowered it. Stubbornness supplies the grit to hang in there and overcome obstacles which might deter other communities in possession of less of this trait. When my great grandparents arrived from the Netherlands, they came with the determination to work as hard as they must to build a good life. Because they came with little, they settled where land was free to those willing to develop it. Whether it was breaking sod, toiling in the hot South Dakota sun, or caring for stock in sub-zero cold, they stubbornly did whatever needed to be done to support the family. When the baton fell into my hands, I utilized that same stubbornness and built my own home-based business to support my family. Whenever I am discouraged, I need not look too far to find my bearings and motivation: it is right there in my heritage. This community gives me a wealth of history and past hardship to encourage my own stubborn grit.

Community constitutes the foundational structure of human life. Some individuals feel too humbled to give credit to others for their success, but no person stands alone, for the human experience is an experience of community membership. As my grandmother would say, “A soup made with one ingredient lacks interest, but a soup with many additions is rich and hearty.” Community, in all its differing manifestations, allows fathers and mothers of the past the opportunity to add their depth and resources to the children of the present. Community constitutes not just the structures upon which we build; they are often the very things that keep us standing.