City Communities

As I was talking to one of my friends, our conversation led us to talk about the different communities we have lived in and what we looked for, etc. One thing that we talked about was the feeling of closeness in communities, and how this varies from place to place. Specifically, we talked about how a small town feels, and he mentioned how big cities lose this feel.

As we talked about this, I realized that this is a common misconception that people, especially in the Midwest, seem to have. I completely disagree with this fact. All cities have some sort of community(ies) within them. It is inherent for people to create this. Contrary to popular belief where I am, really big cities (Boston, NY, DC, LA, etc.) are not the ones that have the biggest problems creating a feeling of community. It is the mid-sized cities (Kansas City is the perfect example) that struggle the most.

Allow me to explain. Small towns are the quintessential examples of strong communities. Everyone knows everyone, and traditionally people help one another, you will walk down the street, say hello, and move about your business, etc. The assumption is that in big cities, this is lost. In actuality, I have felt stronger communities there, than almost anywhere else. The difference I find is that big cities are large collection of communities that people create for themselves. For example, when I was in DC last week, I bumped into people that I hadn't seen in years, and could only see in DC, completely on accident. I mean I was only there a few hours and walked right up to one of my long distance friends. When I walk out from my hotel room, and am walking around town, I would run into the same people at the coffee shop every morning, and even in the short time I was there, the people I would run into would act as though we had known each other all of our lives.

I think what happens is that people form communities mostly because they are close together, and want that feeling. The closer people are to one another, the easier it is to create that connection that we all so innately seek. In small towns, people live close to one another and see each other because it is necessary. When you go to town, you may only have one of each standardized location, and they all form next to one another because it is convenient to do so. In urban centers, there are so many people, they have to create centers of commerce to supply people with what they need. Often times, do to space restrictions, they are small, drawing in the most local residents. Talk to the people in L.A., and they will tell you that they rarely venture out of their little section of the city. West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, are almost foreign to one another. The same can be said in Boston, with Cambridge, Chinatown, etc. NY with the Village, Uptown, etc. You get the picture.

The problem places like Kansas City have is that they are big enough to have lost the small town feel and need, but they are still spread out, and not big enough to for people to live close to one another, nor is it pedestrian. When you have to drive 15 minutes to get anywhere, and the stores you frequent are Wal-Marts and Price Choppers that are so huge you can lose someone that you are shopping with, chances of you "conversing at the market" are rather slim.

This has gone on a lot longer than I anticipated, but suffice to say that maybe now I have a logical reason for the reason that I feel such community in the big cities I visit or live in, but miss that same feeling when I am back here in Kansas City.

Politics in the Culture War

I have decided that since most people I know on here aren't on Xanga, that I will repost my blog here. 2 warnings. First, if you read my Xanga, this is simply cut and paste, so don't waste your time reading it twice. Secondly, I am not timid in any of my entries, and often times they are random thoughts put forcibly into words, so they will not be what some of you are looking for. I almost never talk about what I did in a day, etc. etc., but instead use this space to flesh out thoughts, dillemas, or philosophies that are stirring in my brain. If that is what you want, then by all means, read away.

Before I actually get to the heart of my entry, let me post today's horoscope, which considering my latest entries and state of mind, is simply unbelievable:

"It's all about setting priorities, and right now the primary one is to decide where you want to live and how you're going to live. Are you treating yourself as well as you deserve? If not, it's time to change all that."

'Nuff said.

So onto what I really want to talk about. I recently read a series of articles in the Atlantic Monthly that my dear friend Christopher sent me. The one I want to talk about is Why the Culture War Is the Wrong War by E.J. Dionne Jr. Without simply disecting the article, let me say that the point is that both sides of the political spectrum fight this war in their own way, almost creating the war that they are fighting, while really they are all fighting against and for the same general things.

The statement I want to talk about was in fact the last one in the article. He said, "The culture war exploits our discontents. The task of politics is to heal them." Wow. What a powerful statement.

Taking that by itself, one can see a vision of politics that is clear and amazing. Working towards healing the discontents of society is I think one of the highest ideals that a public servant can try to strive for. Listening to this, I think that both political fields have different problems that keep them from actually accomplishing this goal. I think that the right extremists are the farthest from this goal, partially because they are the current masters of exploiting the culture war to fight their own battles on the political field. I think that the Democrats are closer to this, because they have made it their "goal" to ferret out the problems of the underprivileged and solving them. I think that they fail primarily for two reasons:1. Though this is one of their principals, they have been unable to actually allow this to define the direction of their policies, and 2. they often fail to admit when they are wrong and instead try and solve problems by throwing more and more money at them (obviously to the discontent of their constituents).

In general, if I were to idealize the political scene, I would like to see Republicans work towards healing society's malcontents within their morality, not using their morality to create more discontent. I would like to see Democrats more willing to examine government's role and whether or not some of the initiatives that they want to pursue wouldn't be better controlled by some other agency, or if there were in fact a way that the government could assist without trying to control.

More to come on this later.

Irony Abounds

After yesterday's entry I was astounded to find these three items in my e-mail inbox when I got back into town:

Horoscope for Monday:
"Some constrained types may say you're addicted to excitement, but you know that you need to take inspiration wherever you may find it. Can you help that you find it in such unusual and stimulating places?"

Horoscope for Sunday:
"Seize any excuse to improve your quality of life, especially if it involves your living space. Having the right place to come home to will do wonders to perking up your spirits. Make your house a magical destination." 

E-mail from a dear friend:

My parents and I saw this building project today in downtown Denver. My fantasy right now is moving back to Denver and buying a home at the Glass House in LoDo. The location is fantastic, the architectural vision is appealing, and the prices are very reasonable with great investment value. Check out this website. Warning: you will be seduced! Maybe it's time for you to relocate. We can be neighbors.
www.glasshousedenver.com

Not only was the place he showed me fantastic, but they even mention this:



Were they talking to me directly???

Ironic indeed.