¶ … modernity, the idea of culture and groups has become complex and morphed into an amalgamation of definitions surrounding the idea of just what it is that defines a community. The idea of "community" as a political or sociological concept, has taken on new meaning in the 21st century era of globalization. First, however, it is important to understand the basic idea of community, as well as the political, social and cultural changes that result in a need for a different definition of what community means and how it influences the individual's life.
In general, the idea of community conveys two rather distinct messages. It is often used to refer to a social unit of varying size that shares common values, or a national or international community in which the individuals have something unique or a set of principles and beliefs that are common to most of the group. In science, the term means a group of interacting organisms that share a specific environmental niche. However, for humans, community has been something shared in terms of beliefs, resources, ideologies, protection, etc. -- the idea that a common set of circumstances would bring together a group of people for a mutually beneficial outcome. Indeed, the many scholars believe that the notion of community is one of the prime ways humans became civilized, urbanized, and grew both socially and technologically (Effland). Because community is so ingrained within the social and cultural fabric of humans, community becomes more than simple geography -- more than neighbors and more than ethnicity. Instead, community becomes the sum total of an imagined unity - unity within disagreement and diversity, unity within structure and chaos -- a unity that overcomes adversity and denial and brings humans together and focuses upon what it is to be human.
Indeed, when the unthinkable happens, this imagined community of unity not only expresses itself as what is best in humanity, it brings together a sense of togetherness and structure that, in some cases, proves that sometimes the best in all humans arises out of negativity and adversity. Such an event occurred on September 11, 2001. It was on that day that a series of four coordinated terrorist...
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