Community must have the same level of commitment as commerce, from community and business leaders as well as government decision-makers. Short of that, their continued demise is guaranteed.

House and Home

Most of the world doesn't own a house, and yet most of us have a home, whatever that may be. Here in America, our fixation with a 1950's dream of suburban living with "two cars in every garage" has brought us sprawl, isolation and communities friendlier to cars than people.

There's currently some computer modeling going on that helps connect the dots - kind of like Sim City. You want weed-free lawns? Okay, but you get autism too. You want an expansive house? More energy use. You want that exclusive neighborhhod instead of a rowhouse on a transit line? Great - you get the traffic, isolation and pollution attendant to a car culture.

Community Access

The home building style that began after World War Two hasn't really changed much until recently. In fact, bigger houses, bigger yards and lots of suburban road-building has been the norm.

The interesting dynamic today is that many now realize the price we are paying for the suburban home model. We're fat because we can't walk anywhere useful from our homes. We're "eating" farmland at dramatic rates around all major cities (with a few exceptions). Our kids must be driven everywhere. We need two, three, four cars for our family. And our community attachments? Maybe at church, maybe a neighbor on each side, maybe a coworker nearby.

I was fortunate to grow up in an urban neighborhood where housing was close together and when TV had little influence. (It was just getting started.) We kids were outside whenever possible. We had neighborhood festivals, theatre and sports. Our parents were in constant contact - no kid was treated to badly or too well because of community peer pressure. Not to say there weren't issues, but at least the "suburban home dream" hadn't been stacked against us.

It's quite astonishing that so little has been done to explore things like how television and air conditioning have effected our communities. Guns were far less prevalent. Folks moved a lot less so everyone knew everyone. Now we, well, everyone knows about now.

So where's the repair? Obviously, the government has to be forced to recognize its role, and restore balance from the military/industrial/media complex. Plenty of us are working on that. But what about, like, us in our daily lives?

Isn't it obvious? We take a stand. We choose a community to put down roots and we become actively a part of it. That means getting involved however is appropriate for you. Civic groups, youth groups, community gardens, schools, transportation, civil design, sports and clubs. This is the stuff that enriches our lives, much more than the idiot tube.