America’s Lost Sense of Community
The COVID-19 era has brought a whole new meaning to the word community. For months Americans have been forced to gather online or in very limited capacities in-person due to the worry of “super spreader” events. Events like virtual happy hours and online graduations have become mainstream in the past 18 months as we settle into what seems to be a new normal.
In the last 18 months it’s been remarkable to see the progression of our innovative technology as it has allowed us to continue life in an almost completely virtual fashion. However, the social impact of an almost virtual society should also be called into question. What has significantly changed in the past 18 months? Has the creation of a virtual society caused a fundamental change in what it means to belong to a community?
It is inherent to human nature, and particularly to American culture, that we feel the need to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and experience. Whether that be a college, a social club, a religious institution, or even a prominent activist group. We innately feel called to be a part of something, a community of like-minded people if you will. But are we capable of feeling a part of any community if we are only interacting online? I would say it’s possible, but that it is not sustainable long term.
Life itself is a collection of human experiences. We experience the first day of primary school as a small child, nervous and excited to finally begin education with peers. We experience the first day of college or our career, most often with an independent streak desiring greatly to find out what it is you plan on doing in the world. We innately have the desire to travel to physically experience other places, cultures, and their communities. I would argue that a collection of human experiences tied together thinly through a computer interface leaves much to be desired.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the majority of Americans and quite possibly the world, to forget the importance of community. And this could really be a problem down the road. Communities are what fight back against the onslaught of problems that life hands us. We are taught that the individual fails in the end. Our very founding decries the importance of a strong, united community. We know that as Americans we can deal with anything as a unified group, working together.
Unfortunately, the self-isolation caused by a global pandemic has caused the country to effectively lose its sense of community because we are simply not engaged with each other as much as we used to be. Life is terribly difficult for even the most clever of people, but is much more manageable, and far more enjoyable, if we do it with a community we trust, cherish, and genuinely enjoy being around. A sense of community is as important to the foundation of the United States as the Constitution itself.