On Community Life

          While Berry's ideas and thought processes are stimulating and actually quite similar to mine, I think a cloud of cynicism blocks his ability to see one very important aspect of community. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
          At many points throughout the article Berry leans on community as what seems to be the last hope for any type of decency, mostly because he sees all other establishments as being corrupted. He even claims that the idea of the community is being slowly broken down. When referring to this process of attacking the community he says, "This process has been well established and well respected for so long, of course, because it has been immensely profitable to those in a position to profit." So according to Berry, not even our most sacred of constitutions is safe from money hungry, corrupt-- and to be completely blunt-- assholes. I, on the other hand disagree.
          Don't get me wrong, I hate the government and equally corrupt organizations and believe that they are responsible for many of our modern day issues just as much as the next guy, however, I still, for better or for worse, place much faith in people.
          I grew up in the quintessential Football oriented, elitist, shallow (the list goes on) town. Many people within this community were generally speaking, not very nice. So if there was a community to be classified as "being destroyed by the desires and ambitions of both private and public life..." it would be mine. And I personally accredit this to modern day issues brought on by media influences and skewing of morals. But somehow, my community keeps sending out good, well-rounded people into the world. So how is this? Like I said, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Every day everyone in every community has an overwhelming amount of influences coming at them and I, in my fantasy world, would like to believe the good, wholehearted ones sink in. Because after all, when I'm feeling the "self-consciousness, uncertainty, and fear" that Berry says is plaguing our communities, I don't switch on MTV to find solace and comfort, I go to the people around me: my friends, my family. While we live in an imperfect world with imperfect people, at the end of the day we do know how to "practice love when we don't feel it," and when we do. Face to face with someone in pain, we can't help but feel human, to feel love.
          This also turns out to correlate entirely with our new community we have all become a part of, Ithaca College. The first few days, us freshman walk around, dodging eye contact and feeling the pull of self doubt and anxiety. But somehow we all make friends. Somehow, within this unquestionably imperfect society of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, people look up, reach out. The fear and uncertainty is without a doubt real, but we are stronger than that. Basic humanity is above all negative influence. Conscience is undying. And no bond is greater than one that is built from courage and genuine empathy. No bond is greater than community.