The hierarchy of community (#1152)

This morning has been a little bit of a struggle to find my subject for today's post. I want to write on community but something is holding me back. However, the force pulling me is greater so here goes. The importance of community cannot be over sold. We are creatures of a tribal nature and respond toward like minded tribes of peoples. I was born into a family that has moved from being politically left leaning to politically right wing. Now not all of my family has gone to the right but a majority feel compelled to do so for a variety of reasons that escape my sense of logic. However, they are where they are and that leaves me where I am. Naturally I have become less and less a member of my biological family and more open to new associations of people who are like minded. The new people in my life serve the function of close family despite the fact that this modern world has linked us at best through only limited ways of communication. All of this to highlight that we all need a sense of community in our lives and when we don't feel comfortable within our initial communities anymore we find new ones until we do find that comfort again. I have tried to live an isolated life as just an individual taking care of myself with little to no interaction. It did not work for me at all and although I do relish my privacy I still need to have a community of people around me to interact with. My point is that I cannot survive without community. I need it like I need air or water. This is how I rate community. Therefore, with the concept of community at the core of every decision I make about myself and others I am effectively maintaining and improving not only my life but most assuredly others' lives as well.