Association

In my ancestors’ native Scotland, there were people who were exiled or outcast from their clan.  They were called “broken men.”  They faced a sad destiny wandering the mountains and moors without a community of support or the protection...

This is a bit of a rant, so forgive me. I received an email advertisement from The Timberland Company. The ad said, “If you’re not fast you’re food.”  Gulp. Timberland sells shoes and outdoor accessories. I know them a little and...

All of us, in one way or another, are in the conversation about the relationship between electronic technology and community. Does the technology build community and relationships or become a substitute for them? Does the internet act as a...

A powerful community depends upon its members’ willingness to step outside themselves and stand in the shoes of their neighbors.  A name for this ability is empathy. It is the essential bridge that changes the person next door from...

Invite them and they will come. Part of our marketing campaign to attract people to our annual city park festival involved distributing fliers door-to-door to our city of 5,750 residents. A group of volunteers took the initiative to not only...

Thoughts from and to the community-minded . . . Wendell Berry has spoken clearly and for such a long time about the ways industrialization and the consumer economy have caused the breakup of families, farms and communities. This quote gets...

...open the door, go out and have conversations. Recently I was having a conversation with a pastor from a local church, talking about our annual fundraiser for our community park. He had asked if there was anything he could do to help....

I have a friend who makes lists of barriers to neighborliness.  His list includes the new ranch houses that don’t have a front porch where neighbors can sit and talk and greet each other. Air conditioning is also on his...

As schools throughout the country cut back, there are new possibilities for neighbors to become a "village that teaches a child." One of the most inventive people engaging neighbors as producers is Ray Thompson. In his July 2010 blog...

The Democratization of Art I just spent two days at a conference on education reform. While the agenda was to discuss schools and the ways students learn, what was unique about this gathering was the role that art played in...