Re:The World Needs a Secular Community Revolution
by Nursie on Sunday August 02, 2015 @04:24PM
(#9992286)
I can see that might be appealing to some, but it still doesn't really appeal to me. I'm not sure I'd want a wider community of people I hardly know to rally around me like that.
Perhaps I just haven't been in a bad enough situation, perhaps I do trust my friends and family that much, perhaps I'm just more insular than that. I don't know.
Take the example of the truly unfortunate disaster, for example as another commenter mentioned, complications with the birth of a 3rd or 4th child. A "good" church community (that seems like a weird phrase, but go with me for a second) would involve people that you might only have passed in the hallway bringing you food, helping out with your other kids, or other chores that you simply don't have the time or energy to do during your emergency state.
Unless you are truly a social juggernaut with a lot of friends that really care about you that much, you're probably going to end up either suffering substantially on your own trying to keep things together, or your close friends are going to resent you for leaning on them so heavily (particularly if the hypothetical emergency at hand is long lasting).
That was waaay more than I meant to write, but I was honestly having the same thought as you and trying to think through it. I think one of the important things this post is saying is missing is more about a community of support with a broader surface area for support beyond just those closest to you.