Me, me, me!

Our Lost Community

Americans of a certain age like to remember when there was a thing called community. Not community as in such political blocs as the "gay community" or the "Hispanic community," but community as in neighbors who could count on each other in time of trouble.

But it isn't just partisan advantage that erodes community. So does inequality of sacrifice. Franklin Roosevelt might have had a tougher time preparing America for war if he had appeared unseemly eager to help his pals in the armaments and munitions business. (A Halliburton subsidiary that already has been criticized for its reconstruction work in Iraq has landed a fat contract to do repair work at Gulf Coast Navy and Marine facilities damaged by Katrina. 'Tis an ill wind . . .)

Don't blame it all on government, however. Part of our loss of community may be explained by the simple fact that we don't put down deep roots as individuals and families because we don't stay put the way we used to. How many of your friends live in their parents' home towns?

While this is definitely true, what he does not mention is that Americans are more selfish than they were back in the FDR days. It's all about "me, me, me." You have "libertarians" out there trying to disguise their selfishness as an inherent right. You have people out there buying SUVs despite the fact that those gas guzzlers are driving up the prices for the rest of us more responsible folk. Americans have to have "things" they don't need, like breadmakers and gadgets and cheap junk from China. Corporatism is what has destroyed the community, making people think they need crap to keep up with the Jones. The right is always blubbering about the "war on individualism," but they declared war on the community years ago.

The most common reason I heard from people helping the Katrina victims was "I'd want people to do the same if it happened to me." That's not altruism. That's selfishness. Community is dead. Long live community.