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By Jim Heffernan
I’ve been thinking a lot about a new 8 syllable word I’ve found, “communitarianism”.
I’ve always had an unnatural love for words. In fifth grade, I would meet once a week after school with the high school nun who taught English in the High School. For fun, she coached me in vocabulary building exercises. My wife and I make a daily ritual of two Scrabble games starting at 5:30PM’ish.
Still I encounter new words that fascinate me. The latest is ”communitarianism.” A mouthful at 16 letters, the concept behind it is large and attracts me very much. It is the underlying ethos of JFK’s, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” and Jesus’ “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Communitarianism says that each person has a moral responsibility to ensure the common good of all. In these days of “me first” and “zero sum”* thinking, a healthy dose of “communitarianism” might be a very good thing for the country.
My father’s generation, the generation that brought us through the Depression and World War II, has been characterized as the “greatest generation.” They practiced communitarianism, but I’m pretty sure they never called it that. Maybe they just called it patriotism. Maybe they didn’t call it anything and just did it.
I wish there were an easier word for it and I think there is, morality.
As always, discussion is welcome at codger817@gmail.com and feel free to share and use my writing any way you wish.
*Zero sum thinking is the erroneous notion that anything you get takes away from me. Steve Job’s billions did not take away from us, his advancements in phone and computer technology enriched us all.
