Thomas Paine once alluded to the concept that, in one respect, he was not a member of only one community, but rather all communities. It seems clear enough to me that his reason for believing so is because all communities, to one degree or another, affect one another.
In the very broadest of terms “a community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment…” Hence, the very reason for government, geographical boundaries, and politicians; that is, to intermediate between all the various communities.
The great majority of my life has been spent in two geographical areas, what is loosely termed “North County Coastal,” where I attended primary and secondary school, and San Diego proper where I attended post secondary school.
There is not a great deal of difference between the two geographically, or in the context of “values”. I’m a registered Republican and probably to some extent because the two areas have traditionally held Republican values; although it has been argued that the margin of difference has lessened for San Diego County, California in recent years.
Am I a Republican…more than a few people have labeled me a neo-liberal because my position reflected a sort of Neoliberalism.
Given that I am not a politician or an activist I have not been active in any of the many communities that have surrounded me for more than half a century; I suppose that in one respect my beliefs are similar with those of Thomas Paine…I am ‘not a member of only one community, but rather all communities’.
There is however a new community that I have been heavily involved with these past eight years. In fact I devote approximately fifty hours a week to it, and that community is a virtual community, or online community; although some people are contentious as to whether it is a community. Is that public speaking, not really but there is always an unseen audience, and believe me they are not hesitant to comment if they see an opening or feel slighted.
It is there that I engage in the political process; it is there that ideas are exchanged; it is there that I do my research; it is there that I get my news; it is there that I both influence, and am influenced on every aspect of government and values. One of the most important values that I have come to realize in all of this is that diverse perspectives each have an argument to be made in its favor; what is important is to discover the “best argument”.
