(This post is an example of how you may want to incorporate ideas raised in class discussion into the blog).
Today in class we were talking about ways to define "community" and specifically addressing characteristics of communities. Some of the phrases mentioned in class included similar ideals/ideas/taste, unity, and connection. We then discussed some of the different types of communities that are even present in our small 1106 class, such as people who like Italian food and who have attended a Virginia Tech basketball game.
One of the aspects that struck me about our characteristics of community is this idea of sameness and similarity. Brooks mentions this in his article when he writes that typically people form communities around others with similar interests or beliefs. But it seems like both Brooks' and the class' characterizations of community are very general and neglect to discuss how no community is 100% the same. There are always disagreements or divisive issues within communities, but does that make a community no longer a community? Take our 1106 class for example. Even though we are community of people fulfilling a university requirement at a specific time there are still probably plenty of issues on which we agree or disagree, like whether the class even should be a university requirement. Does that undermine our community?
Do you think it is important to have diversity of opinions or disagreement in a community, why or why not? What are some communities that you can think of that exemplify this thought diversity? At what point does do differences in opinion hurt the community?
Diversity is almost always a good quality for a group of people or a community to have. An outside and differing perspective, which is a product of diversity, is invaluable when it comes to making important decisions that affect more than one person. Other individuals in a group, with a different skill set or experiences, may be in a better position to inform the group on the best course of action. A hypothetical situation, that illustrates how having a diverse group is beneficial, is a group of friends that are stranded on a deserted island. In one group there is an engineer and musician and in the other group there are just two musicians. The group with varying educational backgrounds probably has a larger pool of skills and would probably be able to build a more desirable house which benefits everyone in the group. In the group with only musicians they can only approach the problem of building the house as musicians which may result in a poor outcome for the community.
ReplyDeleteCollege is a great example of a community that is filled with diversity; people from all over the world go to college to receive a higher education. Up until college, most students stay in the same local school system and interact with the same group of people, all with the same common background.
The only time a difference in opinion negatively affects a community is when it prevents the community from preforming deliberate action. If there are too many internal conflicts for a group to come to a consensus and function properly the group is no longer beneficial for its members and should probably split up.
I think it is important to have diversity of opinions because it helps shed light on certain aspects of situations that others may not see. Virginia Tech is an example of a very diverse community, and it uses this as one of its strengths to enrich our education. Differences of opinion may hurt the community when it comes to morality and personal beliefs, which is why being able to respect others viewpoints is a very important skill.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the definition we applied to community during our class discussion was too narrow. Yes a community is a group of people with similarities; however don’t society and communities themselves emphasize diversity? Therefore I think a better, more encompassing definition would be to say that a community is a group of different individuals united by at least one common interest or factor. This can apply to Virginia Tech as a university: students and teachers are all connected because they all chose to attend VT or teach at VT. However each student is different in regards to majors, sports, music, art, likes, dislikes, background, etc. This can also be applied to more general communities that are less tangible. For instance, video gamers who are connected by a virtual network or online chat.
ReplyDeleteI believe that diversity is a more important characteristic than similarity in communities. Yes it is the similarities that help bring us together as a society, but diversity is what makes communities interesting and creates evolution within a community. As we learn from one another, we grow as a whole. I do, however, agree with James, “the only time a difference in opinion negatively affects a community is when it prevents the community from performing deliberate action.” This is present in all aspects of life whether it is on a small scale or a global scale. Take for example a group assignment. More often than not there tends to be one individual in the group who takes control of the project, sometimes providing good leadership, other times being overpowering. This can cause the group to work less effectively. A bigger example would be politics. This past year when confronting national debt and discussing the national budget Congress could not make a decision because Republicans on one end wouldn't yield to the Democrats and vice versa. While opinions and discussions are important to reach the right decision, all parties involved should be accountable to some give an take to best fit the needs of the whole community and not just those on one end of the spectrum.
Diversity is definitely needed in a community because it harmoniously works with it. Even though a community may disagree on certain things at the core most members have more in common than what they do not have in common. To illustrate this I am going to think of a community as a team. In keeping with this theme a community has to unite against a common opponent. In sports every team has members that have to bring their unique and different skills to the table in order for the team to be successful. Using this logic it makes sense that a community needs diversity in order to thrive.
ReplyDeleteDiversity plays a key role in any society. I think that if there is zero diversity than there will not be change. The presence of differing opinions causes a community to see how things are from a different perspective. If a society is only doing something one way, than there will never be change. But when there is difference ideas than change happens. This is why we have different political parties. Each party has a different set of believes on how to run a country. By having different parties the government sees how to run the country from two different perspectives. Different opinions began to hurt a society when they argue too much. If someone constantly argues a point and never compromises, than there will never be progress, only arguing.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has mostly stated diversity does play a huge role in the makeup of a community. Although a community does consist of people with general similarities, those people were probably raised in different situations. This plays a huge role on the individuality of each person in that community. A community cannot be defined with a certain definition; because community can have different boundaries in any situation. In class I said that Virginia Tech is a community within itself, or even just our class; yet we are all unique in our own way, even though we share a common interest therefore we are a community.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a wide spectrum of opinions and viewpoints are necessary for our community at Virginia Tech and for the entire nation as well. The differing thoughts provide new angles at which to look at many controversial issues facing us today. The diversity in viewpoints is only benefits us as a people when the two parties that have differing opinions can think rationally and respect the other. When that respect has been lost diversity no longer is a positive attribute of society and it becomes more of a curse than a blessing. In effect, diversity of thoughts is only positive when people share a mutual respect for each other.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the attitude of the community, diversity can either be constructive or destructive. There are many examples throughout the world of both outcomes. On the constructive side, varying cultures and opinions can greatly increase the tolerance and knowledge of the community as a whole, if the community is accepting of its diverse values and heterogeneous culture. Unfortunately, there are also instances where diversity can harm a community, such as when a certain ethnic, religious, cultural, or economic group is shunned and reviled, even though they are part of the same community as those that reject them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that varying opinion is what gives communities their character for lack of other word. If everyone had the same opinions the world would be so bland. Everyone would have the same car, same house, and same family lifestyle. If you want to think of a community that exemplifies differing opinions I would say a basketball team. Every player doesn’t have the same opinion on what he needs to do, if so then every player would shoot every time they touched the ball. Some players are better defenseman; others are people who pass to the scorers. For the final question I don’t think varying opinions ever hurts the community but how you deal with those differing opinions could hurt the community. Just because I don’t agree with something doesn’t lower the community but if I resent that person because we don’t share the same opinion that is when the community begins to suffer.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has already stated it, but by being a community it doesn't mean that your alike in all ways. There's a specific thing connecting everyone into that specific community, but the great part is that it can be and is diverse. Take Virginia Tech for an example. We are a community, because we all go to the same school and are after a similar goal. We have that connection. Yet, we all are so unique and different which is great to have in a community. If everyone was the same no one would be able to be different if they wanted too. Lets face it no one is the same. Therefore, a community has a connection, but also so many branches that come off of it. It allows us to create difference of opinion and share our thoughts. Another example can easily be given. Take a workplace. They're a community, but they all have different jobs within the company. If they were all the same the company couldn't function, and therefore not exist. Within a company you have accountants, marketing people, technology people and so many different employees. Therefore, even though they are different, they have the unity of the company.
ReplyDeleteA community should not simply be defined as a group of people with something in common. A community is more than that. A community requires a connection; not just a similarity between people, but communication and interaction within a group. People who like pizza are not a community unless they actually come together around this mutual interest and interact (e. a pizza-lovers club). Notice the common prefixes between the words “community” and “communication”. A group without communication cannot be considered a community. It is not that everyone in a community must agree on every topic, it is that they associate with each other based on one main similarity. For example, just because someone may agree with the Republican Party on some issues, does not mean they must agree with every single thing the Republican Party promotes. Our English class is the reason we gather together and communicate, therefore it is a community. We have our separate opinions, but even if we disagree on healthcare policies, it doesn’t change the fact that the primary reason we even converse is due to a shared class period. When handled correctly, diversity spurs positive change and awareness. Differences bring about understanding and acceptance. Diversity is to be expected in any group of people, and as long as a clash of opinions does not disrupt the balance of the group, a sense of community remains.
ReplyDeleteA community is not a group of individuals who necessarily have something in common, but who have a reason to come together. Unity in essence is the heart of a community. If we take a religious group we could see that the members themselves are diverse in beliefs. Politically you could have Republicans, Democrats, and neutral voters in the group. In the group there may be people who assess the teachings literally or contextually. There will be devout members and others that are not quite fully committed. The point being, that the reason they are a community is not because they are extremely similar beings, but because they have one common reason for being there. I imagine that the majority of the community feel a certain importance in not only learning about but also professing their faith. Diversity in essence is a factor that contributes to a unified community. Diversity however can go wrong when the members of a community replace their identity with their opinions/ beliefs. When they identify with the very factors that make them different from one another, conflict may arise. Having a diverse group gives a community the opportunity to interact with and understand people from different walks of life.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone in a community is the same. For the most part they have similar morals and goals, but everyone is different anyway. Outside of a college like Virginia Tech, people tend to live in communities segregated by similar salaries. For example, I live in a small town so most people work in agriculture or education. Diversity is important because having different opinions and experiences allows you to have more understanding of other peoples' perspectives.
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ReplyDeleteA community is often defined as a a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. As seen from the outside, a communities members may often seem identical in their lifestyle and unanimous in their decisions. However, viewing a community in such a way fails to point out how the community came to be in the first place. It is new ideas and diversity of opinion that makes it possible for communities to distinguish themselves and flourish.
ReplyDeleteFor many centuries, western Europe was held back and oppressed by the church of the Vatican. Their stubbornness made it impossible for European nations to advance in any of the arts which the threatened the power of the church, with inquisitors burning men and women who they regarded as heretics. After hundreds of years in the darkness, enlightenment came upon Europe with the rise of men such as Galileo and Da Vinci. Their new ideas revolutionized European society and brought about a period of prosperity while exposing the church and their antiquated ways. The European community was literally reborn, as the term Renaissance proves, and escaped from the claws which in which it was held.
Most communities are formed by people with similar ideas and goals, but to have a successful community there must be diversity. The population could still have common goals, but they need to go about achieving their goals in their own way. The congress as a community shares the desire to improve our country, yet each member has their own opinions on how to do it. Unfortunately, the vast range of ideas can put congress in a stand still as they argue over different bills that need to be passed.
ReplyDeletePeople won't always agree with one another, but that doesn't mean that it's not a community. To me a community isn't about always agreeing with each other or always having the same goals, beliefs, etc. It's about doing things together and overcoming obstacles as a big group. Such as the Hokie community and the shooting of Officer Crouse a while back. Virginia Tech may be predominately Caucasian, but there are other races as well, and we came together as a community and exhibited our resilience.
ReplyDeleteI believe that people are a community even if they don't all share the same ideals. I may not like basketball as much as say the person sitting next to me in Engieering class, but we're still part of the Hokie community. And diversity brings along new opinions and new view points. Say person X always hung around people that did things Y way in b amount of time. Then person Z comes along and can do the same task faster. Being open minded is always a good thing.
The scientific definition of a community is a group of organisms living and interacting together in an environment or region. I’d say it’s hard to argue with science since mutual agreement of every possible issue is not a requirement of being a community. Having different opinions and debating about the difference of opinions on certain issues is an essential part about being a community. Arguing about abortion, having a mutual attraction with another person, and having a three way discussion about ways to end world hunger between your dog and a bush are all examples of community interactions and relations.
ReplyDeleteDiversity of opinions is what makes interacting a necessary part of being a community otherwise a community with mutual agreement on every possible issue would be considered a cult. Some communities that exemplify diversity of opinions are centers of commerce and culture such as New York City or Los Angeles in which developing tolerance of differing opinions is necessary to the workflow of the city. The point in which differing opinions could harm a community would be the point in which the matter of opinions turns into the matter of body count. For example, the Sunnis and the Shiites are in war for over a thousand years in which the cause of the conflict is a difference in opinions.
Like we discussed in class, a community is a group of people with similarities in many different aspects of life. Some of these include politics, ethnicity and the activities we participate in. Although every community has defining characteristics that unify and connect each member of the community to one another, there are many things that the community does not agree on. For instance someone may be a republican, but they do not believe in all the policies of specific republican candidate. Like in the presidential debate there are four republican candidates running for office. Each of these candidates, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are all unified by the general classification of their political party. But within each of these candidates they have different opinions on political policies that define them into smaller sub categories and communities. In my opinion the larger a community and the more general the harder it is for the community to dissolve over small disputes, yet there will naturally have more differences between the members of the community. And on the contrary the smaller and more specific a community is like in the example of politics the easier it is for the small factors to dissolve a community.
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