In these interesting times, what does it means to live in a community; what gives a place a sense of community? “Communitarianism” (small self-governing communities) doesn’t fit. Neither does the mathematical property of “Commutativity.”
We need a new word. We propose Communitivity (“Com-mune-e-tiv-ity”).
COMMUNITIVITY: The amount to which a group of people (a community) acts to support one another, especially in times of societal stress (e.g., natural disasters, pandemics, social unrest, recession/depression). A high Communitivity rating indicates a large degree of social support.
I was reading a Facebook post (a rant, really) by an outspoken friend of mine who complained about people buying 12 loaves of bread and 20 pounds of meat in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. She said that in a few days you’ll have moldy bread and rotted meat, you’re out a chunk of change, and you kept someone who needed the food from getting any. Her anatomical description of the bread and meat hoarders was considered spot on by other commenters.
My response to her started with “Amen Sister,” then offered 3 Rules to consider during these times.
- Stop panicking
- We’re all in this together, so look out for each other, and
- Take the initiative on Rule #2.
I don’t claim any credit for this; it was inspired by another friend in our neighborhood who took the initiative to visit an elderly neighbor. Debbie Sue took the grocery list and loaded her up. Debbie Sue ended her email message with “Let me know if anyone needs ANYTHING!” That’s a high level of Communitivity.
We all should be looking for ways to increase Communitivity among our friends and neighbors (remember Rule #3). What can you do to help out, or just stay in touch with those who may need a little extra assistance? What initiatives can you take to increase our Communitivity? We really are all in this together. Hoarding bread and meat (or hand sanitizer) doesn’t work.
The potential silver lining here is that when life returns to “normal,” we can still work to maintain a high Communitivity rating. Neighborhoods, cities, and entire societies benefit with higher Communitivity. And when the next element of societal stress arrives, we’re ready!
Lastly, a new definition needs units of measure so that increases and decreases can be quantified. For Communitivity, We propose the unit of the Debbie. Debbie Sue’s actions quantify to one Debbie. How many Debbies can you earn?
Authors: Jeanne and Randy spend some of their time in South Africa helping the Anglican and Methodist churches with their work on ECD centers, youth programs, and other priority projects for church staff.
