Jeanne Guerin
English 20-41
Journal Three
23 September 2003
Connection, Alienation, and Communality
Is belonging worth the risk of alienation? Describe what it means to belong.
Belonging is feeling part of a group. Belonging is being comfortable in the given situation and environment. Belonging in a group of people is being comfortable in nearly any setting because one is in their group. In “Collective Trauma: Loss of Communality,” by Kai Erikson, a community in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia is described. Buffalo Creek was a tight community in which everyone in it belonged. Whether a person was close to home, or a while away, while inside that community of Buffalo Creek, one felt they belonged. A comfort radiated through Buffalo Creek and the people were content. The people, however, were so dependent on each other, that when a disaster flood occurred, which killed 125 and left approximately 5,000 homeless, each remaining individual lost a part of themselves. Belonging to such a tight knit community meant dependence. There were no individual identities, just one complete communal identity. “… People put their own individual resources at the disposal of the group-placing them in the communal store, as it were-and then draw on that reserve supply for the demands of everyday life” (Erikson, 191).
The dependence upon one another became detrimental to each individual after the disaster occurred. Rather than pick up the pieces and move on, each person was left helpless. Not having their own resources to rely on, people had no way to look in to themselves and cope. So much of the community was lost and shattered by the flood that people were left feeling alone and alienated from the world. The community was no longer existent, and from that the people were left with no identity, and no one to turn to. Each person suffered the same pain and loss, and there was no room to help one another. So much suffering and loss was contained in each being, that there was no one to turn to, because everyone else was feeling the same way. Nobody was able to stand up, take a deep breath, and attempt to rebuild the community, because the ability of individual thought had never had a chance to exist, and therefore did not exist.
The complete loss of contact and overwhelming feeling of alienation which occurred was definitely not worth the benefits of belonging. While it is definitely comforting to belong in such a tight community, the possibility of utter and complete loss of oneself is too much of a risk to have dangling on a thread. There are, of course, different levels of belonging. The level that the community in Buffalo Creek had was a complete belonging. A moderate or small level of belonging is an OK risk, since there is very little risk at all. With a lower level of belonging and dependence, there is room for independence, and a person can be him/herself. Having a sense of independence and the ability to function alone makes the risk of losing oneself or losing the feeling of belonging dwindle down to very low and maybe even eliminate it completely. So with the case of complete belonging, the risk is not worth it, while moderate or low belonging since there is no real risk, is worth it.
Is alienation a positive force in our lives? Describe what it means to be alienated.
Alienation can be both a positive and negative force in our lives, but it is more negative than positive. When alienated, one feels alone, even if there is a group of people. A person who is alienated feels outcast, like they are different and don’t fit in with a group. Sometimes when I feel alienated from a group, I will take time out and have some alone time. This alone time with cause me to look in to myself and find out why exactly I feel this alienation, and if there is anything I can do to feel like I belong. Alone time sheds a light on oneself and lets a person really think. When in this reflective alone time, people have the time to sit back and really think about life, where it is going, why it is where it’s at, and how it can be changed and enhanced. In the busy lifestyles of today, without the feeling of alienation, sometimes this reflective thinking, which is needed every once in a while, may not occur. It is often difficult to find time to just sit down and think, but when there is nothing to do but sit back and reflect then it can happen.
Being in an unknown place, knowing no one, and being completely alienated can be a bad force. Not knowing anybody and not being able to connect makes functioning difficult. Feeling alone creates a sense of uneasiness, a feeling that something is off. Normal everyday activities, like going to the supermarket, studying or work is difficult when one feels alienated. A constant empty feeling floats around. It is as if the person is “almost empty of feeling, empty of affection, empty of confidence and assurance” (191). Severe alienation can lead a person to detach from the world. Rather than live, the person will just float about days and not take in what is going on around. Instead of giving input and making decisions, the person just agrees to anything and becomes a wallflower of society. Human beings are social beings and they are dependent on one another. Although it can sometimes be beneficial to be alienated from a group, alienation can lead to a detachment from society.
In the broad view, should we prize individualism over communality, or communality over individualism? Why?
In the broad view, individualism should be prized over communality. Finding a place in a community is a beneficial thing, but individualism is by far more important. As shown by many quotes and interviews from Buffalo Creek, no matter how comfortable or reassuring a community is, it is always good to keep an individual self in check. At least once in everyone’s life, one must to turn to his/her own resources and discover an individual path. Whether the decisions made are good or bad, it is always beneficial to be able to make that individual choice. When stranded and alone, there is no one else to help besides the individual. There is no one else to turn to, no one else to lean on, no shoulder to cry on. Being completely dependent on a community and others leads a person to a destructive path to lose his/her own individualism.
There are definitely perks and advantages to a community, don’t get me wrong, but individualism is, in my opinion, more important in the long run than communality. Being able to make decisions alone is more important than making a group decision. Having the ability to find one’s way in a deserted place is better than depending on someone else to find that way for them. Being able to sit in a group of people and be content not knowing a single person is better than needing that group of people in order to feel content. Having contact with a community is essential for the well being of a human being. Human contact is necessary to live a healthy life, but that contact should not be depended on. A person should be able to live happily on their own, and have other people and communities embellish on their happiness. Whether we like it or not, accidents and deaths happen without warning. Dependence on an individual, on a community, is a set up for a traumatic aftershock. So although communality is a good thing, individualism should be prized over communality.
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