You might live in a neighborhood with a feeling of community, or you might live in a collection of houses, apartments and condominiums with minor interaction and feeling of community.

 In the past, neighborhoods were relatively homogeneous, economically and educationally, and what united the community was what was seen as the community good. Whatever is local is a more powerful force with more immediate effect than something that is further away, be it state, regional, or national. It is understood that people’s behavior is often shaped by “like me” – the familiar, the known. Face-to-face was a powerful force in the town meetings of the past and in the present. Whenever you see and rub shoulders with your neighbors, you want to get along because life is better and more comfortable.

There is a human desire for connection. In order to weaken or destroy connections, you must first demonize an individual or group. Vested self-interest, always tied to money, needs to create a “not-like-me”. We see this repeatedly throughout history. Hitler, backed by corporations, created the class of  “not-like-me,” i.e., Jews and Gypsies, “We eat them”.  And so they did.

Corporations got cheap labor, as in all slave states, when the “not-like-me” were dehumanized and worked until death. To detract from real issues, groups of people were scape-goated and the rest were worked into a frenzy. What is remarkable is the consistency of the groundwork, no matter when or where. The enmity, the manipulation of old wounds, dissatisfactions and rage focused on those deemed, “not-like-me.”

We were reminded of stories concerning an Indian tribe that socialized for warriors. The training began in infancy. The child, was happily fed at his mother’s breast until it was used to the comfort. Then, a bitter substance was placed on the nipple to frustrate the child and, in many cases, as the child continued to reach for comfort and sustenance, it would be struck on the head and its anger turned outward. Many more steps followed, but the tribe had its warriors. Frustration and hatred were always directed outward.

What is both hopeful and amazing is that, in every time and place, there have always been people for whom altruism trumps self-interest. These are people who have sacrificed for others because they see them as members of their neighborhood of humanity. God bless them!

Oliver & Barbara