Why do we love a community
Is it irrational a belief that you owe allegiance to a piece of dirt just coz you were born into it? Loyalty to a family since we were born into it. Strong ties to sport teams, college
Humans crave to be part of community (Well most of us). It satisfies the security part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It also gives a sense of purpose. This was best illustrated by Benedict Anderson when he coined the concept ‘Imagined Communities’. We like certain things and equivocally voice for them as we feel part of the larger community which does the same things although we haven’t met them. We like Game of Thrones not because we like it to the core of our heart but we don’t want to be left out from office water cooler talks. We like Pink Floyd, Murukami, Nolan since we want to be part a community and we owe it to the art to be defended. We meet some one of similar interest and we are attracted to them. We collective defend the same online along with fellow comrades.
The community may vary depending on individual preference. It can be niche, elite or a mass one. It can be intellectual yet purposely mundane such as philosophy, art. Or it could be fun and open for all such as mind boggingly dumb Bollywood movies.
But family, country isn’t exactly an imagined community. We are born into it, moulded by it. Tied together by blood, traditions and conservative morals. Quite a few manage to break out of this and adhere to the philosophy that we are in the most basic form advanced cells and that we alone are responsible for ourselves and that reproduction is a process of nature and we are just a part of it and we never chose to be tied down to invisible forces. There are various terms for such people. Previously they were called sanyasis, Attaining Nirvanha, Moksha. The modern society has come up with free spirited, Nilhists etc..
But don’t these bonds that we develop that come to our rescue. These relationships that we forge. After all what is life but the stories that we create and read. Imagine stuck in a hostile coup in a foreign country. Whom do you expect to come to your rescue if you do not identify to a particular nation. It is hard to live alone, especially in the modern age. We are social animals. A long forgotten friend and many a times even a stranger come our rescue in times of distress in strange lands and times.
Is it irrational a belief that you owe allegiance to a piece of dirt just coz you were born into it? Loyalty to a family since we were born into it. Strong ties to sport teams, college
Humans crave to be part of community (Well most of us). It satisfies the security part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It also gives a sense of purpose. This was best illustrated by Benedict Anderson when he coined the concept ‘Imagined Communities’. We like certain things and equivocally voice for them as we feel part of the larger community which does the same things although we haven’t met them. We like Game of Thrones not because we like it to the core of our heart but we don’t want to be left out from office water cooler talks. We like Pink Floyd, Murukami, Nolan since we want to be part a community and we owe it to the art to be defended. We meet some one of similar interest and we are attracted to them. We collective defend the same online along with fellow comrades.
The community may vary depending on individual preference. It can be niche, elite or a mass one. It can be intellectual yet purposely mundane such as philosophy, art. Or it could be fun and open for all such as mind boggingly dumb Bollywood movies.
But family, country isn’t exactly an imagined community. We are born into it, moulded by it. Tied together by blood, traditions and conservative morals. Quite a few manage to break out of this and adhere to the philosophy that we are in the most basic form advanced cells and that we alone are responsible for ourselves and that reproduction is a process of nature and we are just a part of it and we never chose to be tied down to invisible forces. There are various terms for such people. Previously they were called sanyasis, Attaining Nirvanha, Moksha. The modern society has come up with free spirited, Nilhists etc..
But don’t these bonds that we develop that come to our rescue. These relationships that we forge. After all what is life but the stories that we create and read. Imagine stuck in a hostile coup in a foreign country. Whom do you expect to come to your rescue if you do not identify to a particular nation. It is hard to live alone, especially in the modern age. We are social animals. A long forgotten friend and many a times even a stranger come our rescue in times of distress in strange lands and times.
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