The comments about words losing value when commodified or used performatively makes me think about the word "trauma" and how overused and non-specific it has become.
I think about "community" all the time, Nia. And my lack of one, heh. It is one of those words, like love, that has to carry more water than it should. We need more words, phrases, with some specificity, I think. Maybe we should make our own?
Also, re: Dan O'Brien. I've read a bit of him, especially essays. His "Buffalo for the Broken Heart" is a wonderful book.
Maybe it's less lack, and more that our communities are less stable than we'd like. It seems like a companion word of "community" is "trust." I think we should make lots of our own words!
I think that when a word becomes commoditized, as the word community has, part of the true meaning is strip-mined and the void is filled with the new, commercial meaning.
Oof, right on the money there, so to speak. A relative also emailed me to point out the difference between community and institution, and it made me think about what happens when institutions profess to be building community and then fail.
I tend to think that institutions marry some of the transactional aspects of industry with communal ideals. To me, it's how a local greasy spoon or cultural center (like a religious group or sports team) can become a thing that's more than a wholly transactional affair. Therefore, it can be a part of the communityat large by providing something intangible that is more than the services paid for, but it isn't "the community" per se.
You know, I hadn't thought it from that perspective--my relative was talking more institutions like universities, which led me to think of Facebook and how it's always saying it wants to "build community"--but it's interesting to think about those things on a spectrum of what we mean by community, what creates robust community, how institutions can succeed or fail at community, etc. To your point, it's interesting to think about how institutions that don't intend to be community become successful at it, whereas some institutions that try to create community end up failing.
I think this analysis really hinges on where the entity derives its value. If you are a human, your value is inherent and intrinsic to your existence. When there is a collective of this value, a community can occur. This is different from a business, which has a value proposition (i.e. what good or service does that business produce and is then paid for). There is no inherent value to a business, its value comes from its production. Sometimes, however, that business value can merge with human value (and form an institution, using my half-assed definition). It's why a company like Starbucks is fundamentally more honest and successful at becoming an institution (thinking of their Third Place campaign of 15 years ago) and Facebook will always fail (because they leverage any possibility of communal properties for profits).
Ah, and we circle back to ownership and private property! I've always been interested in the particular aspect of Adam Smith that speaks to self-interest, and how "self-interest" got moved from "that which benefits me" to "profit at all costs" without really examining the assumption that profit is in one's self-interest.
I'd forgotten about the Third Place thing and the role that coffee shops play.
My most common emotional response to the readings you note is, "Oof!" It expands somewhat to, "Ouch. Didn't see that coming," which is a capsule statement of where we are as a species.
It had an unintentional narrative arc, I felt, reading it over. I wanted to end on a lighter note, like the apple farmer, but that seemed to on the nose after something like Squid Game or tire pollution.
Wonderful column, and wonderful photo. I so think you are right about building relationship(s), it's something one can do and it's foundational. Hope you had a wonderful Autumn!
It's a gorgeous one here! That view was from a hike that is just out of town and very popular -- a couple of friends and I went that day, and the larches (or tamaracks) were just starting to turn. They're brilliant this year, but I guess they always are.
Thanks for this issue. Words are wonderful. When I was seven, I either wanted to be a librarian, an archeologist, or own a gas station....I figured all of them would leave me plenty of time to read and discover new words.
Thank you for the new podcast! I have a 12 hour drive next week and the Origin Stories podcast will be a good thing to listen to as I cross the various states. I also want to thank you for the land acknowledgement poem. I saw it when you left it in a comment on Chris La Tray's wonderful issue earlier this month. (and I LOVED his first response to your comment!) The piece by Lukas Rieppel is interesting and a bit infuriating...so much money and so many ways it could truly help people.
I will stop now and just thank you for your excellent writing and recommendations. Have a great week!
Those all sound like great reading jobs! I remember reading someone talking about advice he'd gotten for becoming a writer, and top was "get a reading job, like parking station attendant."
I hope you enjoy Origin Stories! It's a nice escape for me into deeper past, a reminder that we all come and go. The sound quality isn't always up to par, but mostly it seems good. I remember really enjoying the one about (I think?) Neanderthals and fire. Or maybe just fire.
I guess "so much money and so many ways it could truly help people" describes a lot of philanthropy in any age :/
I am very interested in the point about different languages. It hadn't occurred to me to wonder if this happens in other languages but now I am. Is it just a matter of commodification, I wonder.
Oh my gosh! "It's something" is not very reassuring. I recently read the young adult sci fi Exo, by Fonda Lee. Fascinating because it depicts an Earth that has been taken over by an alien species that rules by somewhat benevolent authoritarianism (maybe not exactly, but it really plays around with what we mean by "freedom," since the alien rulers are benevolent).
The comments about words losing value when commodified or used performatively makes me think about the word "trauma" and how overused and non-specific it has become.
Loved the land acknowledgment poem.
Ooh, yes, that's a big one. I'm sure especially in your work the casual use of it can really be undermining.
I think about "community" all the time, Nia. And my lack of one, heh. It is one of those words, like love, that has to carry more water than it should. We need more words, phrases, with some specificity, I think. Maybe we should make our own?
Also, re: Dan O'Brien. I've read a bit of him, especially essays. His "Buffalo for the Broken Heart" is a wonderful book.
Maybe it's less lack, and more that our communities are less stable than we'd like. It seems like a companion word of "community" is "trust." I think we should make lots of our own words!
I'll pick that one up, thanks!
I think that when a word becomes commoditized, as the word community has, part of the true meaning is strip-mined and the void is filled with the new, commercial meaning.
Oof, right on the money there, so to speak. A relative also emailed me to point out the difference between community and institution, and it made me think about what happens when institutions profess to be building community and then fail.
I tend to think that institutions marry some of the transactional aspects of industry with communal ideals. To me, it's how a local greasy spoon or cultural center (like a religious group or sports team) can become a thing that's more than a wholly transactional affair. Therefore, it can be a part of the communityat large by providing something intangible that is more than the services paid for, but it isn't "the community" per se.
You know, I hadn't thought it from that perspective--my relative was talking more institutions like universities, which led me to think of Facebook and how it's always saying it wants to "build community"--but it's interesting to think about those things on a spectrum of what we mean by community, what creates robust community, how institutions can succeed or fail at community, etc. To your point, it's interesting to think about how institutions that don't intend to be community become successful at it, whereas some institutions that try to create community end up failing.
I think this analysis really hinges on where the entity derives its value. If you are a human, your value is inherent and intrinsic to your existence. When there is a collective of this value, a community can occur. This is different from a business, which has a value proposition (i.e. what good or service does that business produce and is then paid for). There is no inherent value to a business, its value comes from its production. Sometimes, however, that business value can merge with human value (and form an institution, using my half-assed definition). It's why a company like Starbucks is fundamentally more honest and successful at becoming an institution (thinking of their Third Place campaign of 15 years ago) and Facebook will always fail (because they leverage any possibility of communal properties for profits).
Ah, and we circle back to ownership and private property! I've always been interested in the particular aspect of Adam Smith that speaks to self-interest, and how "self-interest" got moved from "that which benefits me" to "profit at all costs" without really examining the assumption that profit is in one's self-interest.
I'd forgotten about the Third Place thing and the role that coffee shops play.
I did a six or seven year stint at Starbucks and I am unable to forget that campaign, no matter how hard I try!
My most common emotional response to the readings you note is, "Oof!" It expands somewhat to, "Ouch. Didn't see that coming," which is a capsule statement of where we are as a species.
It had an unintentional narrative arc, I felt, reading it over. I wanted to end on a lighter note, like the apple farmer, but that seemed to on the nose after something like Squid Game or tire pollution.
Wonderful column, and wonderful photo. I so think you are right about building relationship(s), it's something one can do and it's foundational. Hope you had a wonderful Autumn!
It's a gorgeous one here! That view was from a hike that is just out of town and very popular -- a couple of friends and I went that day, and the larches (or tamaracks) were just starting to turn. They're brilliant this year, but I guess they always are.
Thanks for this issue. Words are wonderful. When I was seven, I either wanted to be a librarian, an archeologist, or own a gas station....I figured all of them would leave me plenty of time to read and discover new words.
Thank you for the new podcast! I have a 12 hour drive next week and the Origin Stories podcast will be a good thing to listen to as I cross the various states. I also want to thank you for the land acknowledgement poem. I saw it when you left it in a comment on Chris La Tray's wonderful issue earlier this month. (and I LOVED his first response to your comment!) The piece by Lukas Rieppel is interesting and a bit infuriating...so much money and so many ways it could truly help people.
I will stop now and just thank you for your excellent writing and recommendations. Have a great week!
Those all sound like great reading jobs! I remember reading someone talking about advice he'd gotten for becoming a writer, and top was "get a reading job, like parking station attendant."
I hope you enjoy Origin Stories! It's a nice escape for me into deeper past, a reminder that we all come and go. The sound quality isn't always up to par, but mostly it seems good. I remember really enjoying the one about (I think?) Neanderthals and fire. Or maybe just fire.
I guess "so much money and so many ways it could truly help people" describes a lot of philanthropy in any age :/
Chris's responses are always the best!
I am very interested in the point about different languages. It hadn't occurred to me to wonder if this happens in other languages but now I am. Is it just a matter of commodification, I wonder.
Oh my gosh! "It's something" is not very reassuring. I recently read the young adult sci fi Exo, by Fonda Lee. Fascinating because it depicts an Earth that has been taken over by an alien species that rules by somewhat benevolent authoritarianism (maybe not exactly, but it really plays around with what we mean by "freedom," since the alien rulers are benevolent).