Community: A Response to Dignan et al

Dignan's most recent entry concerns the issue of "Rediscovering Community." Here is a copy of my response to that discussion.

The concern over "community" is misguided. We are not witnessing a vanishing of community for the simple reason that humans are social creatures. We want to be with others. Rather, we now have opportunities to define community in a variety of ways. Instead of being forced to associate solely with members of my own village (as would be the case in the Middle Ages) or solely with citizens of my own country (as would be the case before the growth of international communication and travel), I can associate (create community) with seemingly anyone. In fact, blogging itself has made the construction of community even easier.

Critics may argue these vitual interactions are somehow "artificial," but they ignore the fact that these interactions are completely voluntary, faciliated by people who want to communicate (and be in community) with others. For an example of truly artificial attempts at community, one should look at zoning regulations that forbid people from interacting in ways they see fit.