Community

How important is community to human beings? How important is it to belong? Being told over and over again that we are social, I would think they both are pretty damned important. How important however, is local community? What differences result from being a part of a local community versus a part of a global community?

I wonder this because in conversation this morning with my grandparents, we were discussing how the kids, and even older folk, rarely get out in the winter any more getting together to ice skate, cross country ski, or some other form of socializing. There really is such a huge disconnection between members of local communities. Most everyone lives in their own little world, which especially is connected through electronics. It is helped fueled by creating online communities, online social networks, like Facebook and MySpace. What is the result of this? Is it for the better? Is this part of human evolution on our way to a grander state of being? Will the transition be painful? Looking at the world around me, I have to believe it is...