A Call to Community During Local, National, and International Emergencies
As Anglican cleric John Donne noted, “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main” (Meditation XVII, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions).
In other words, living in, supporting, and participating in community strengthens ourselves as well as the religious, business, judicial, educational, and political spheres within our world and much more. Successful communities, resilient communities, are dependent on a conscious and well-intentioned public.
Professor Peter Rowe, in Civic Realism, analyzed the significance of civic engagement and the sustainability of cities. Rowe exalted a particular city in Italy as a model of strength that stood the test of time through conflicts and emergencies, “Siena and the Piazza del Campo stand out as a place where civic life, civic aspirations, and civic responsibilities have been inscribed indelibly” (Rowe).
A key to Siena’s success was a citizenry willing to be active and protective of the cities' inhabitants, a mutual concern for each other, and a robust republican, representative government, rather than a feudal structure or democratic mobocracy with special interests and/or individuals merely looking out for themselves. The public spheres, architecture, institutions, and families of Sienna exhibited the civic values of “justice, freedom, and honor” (Rowe).
The family living next door, the school down the street, and small business around the corner are dependent upon each other and must be welcomed. Communities, cities, towns, and main streets are civic areas for people to work, play, hold fellowship, change and grow together. Safety, security, and health are best maintained and improved through individuals in communities collaborating under the banner of justice, freedom, and honor. This shared mission promotes personal responsibility to care for ourselves and each other, to donate food, find cures, and get resources to people in need.
The forms, shapes, and structures vary from locale to locale, yet the importance of vibrant communities is the same. A beach city in California will have a different style and design to its neighborhoods, economics, transportation, and population than an agricultural town in Panama, or Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. Each community has its own needs and wants. Although, free and open communities do share a duty and opportunity to form personal relationships, hold citizens and residents accountable, serve, conduct business, and be ambassadors for good will.
In times of local, national, and international emergencies, each individual, each neighbor, and each republic—res publica, has the responsibility and power to support their families, places of worship, schools, enterprises, and other organizations. The health of each individual makes up the health of each community and each community mirrors the health of the individuals. As Donne said, “No man is an island”.
Outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics, fires, floods, and earthquakes all affect the world around us. The spread of illness and destruction adds to pre-existing challenges in daily life. If our local public schools permanently close and instruction is shifted to digital lessons, if businesses close and shopping is shifted to webpages, if the brick-and-mortar museums, restaurants, and churches close, then we are left without common spaces.
Designing, building, and sustaining physical communities is healthy work for citizens to do and necessary to keep alive public discussion, education, and social-emotional bonds with others. Spending time on the Internet is not a substitute for civic engagement and “[web] use is linked to loneliness, low moods and the loss of real-life friends: ‘The more a person hangs out in the global village, the worse they are likely to feel’” (“Too Much Time Online Makes You Moodier, Lonelier and Obsessed”).
The great poet and thinker John Donne, 1572–1631 A.D., lived during the Protestant Reformation and Renaissance. A time of great structural change forged by individuals in the civic spheres of religion, education, commerce, art, literature, and politics. A time when many individuals worked and collaborated to remake, rebuild, and reform countries throughout Europe after the Black Death (a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that originated in Central Asia and was carried by traders to Europe; 1346-1353).
Rebellions and risk-making were part of that rebirth to release the grip of Catholic officials and monarchs on individuals. Martin Luther, John Calvin, Johannes Gutenberg [yoh-hahn-uh s goot-n-berk], Christopher Columbus, Isabella I (the first), Leonardo da Vinci [veen-chee], William Shakespeare, John Locke [lock], Charles-Louis Montesquieu [mon-tuh-skyoo], and Galileo Galilei among the figures.
These leaders helped people in countries across Europe end the bonds of slavery, servitude, and stop political despots, as well as overcome natural disasters and the plague by forging a new beginning. Additionally, such historical figures serve as inspiration in today's world.
Donne’s “Metempsychosis” is an epic reminder of human potential, point-of-view, and transformation. Life can be dangerous and full of beastly challenges, as exemplified by the whale and a politician in “Metempsychosis”, “He hunts not fish, but as an officer, Stays in his court, as his own net, and there All suitors of all sorts themselves enthral; So on his back lies this whale wantoning, And in his gulf-like throat, sucks everything That passeth near” (Donne).
As Donne reminds us, life is always in flux, humans are not perfect, and all of that requires us to be aware, self-analyze, and to act. It is essential for individuals to act with grace, think about the perspective of others, and have awareness of mortality. Also important is to be aware of Black Swan Bias; situations and circumstances are subject to change by unpredictable events that we do not expect.
Sometimes expert forecasts are incorrect and fail to account for facts that will cause a situation to be worse or improve. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb, promulgated in The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, “The inability to predict outliers implies the inability to predict the course of history” (Taleb and Chandler). The health and wellness of individuals and communities depends on us.
The following are some steps and resources to utilize during times of crisis and to support your community.
Ephesians 6:18 Young's Literal Translation (YLT): “through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and in regard to this same, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (https://www.biblegateway.com)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S.” (www.cdc.gov)
LCMS Disaster Response: “responds to immediate and long-term needs following natural and man-made disasters.” (https://www.lcms.org/givenow/disaster)
Charity Navigator: “Charity Navigator's rating system examines two broad areas of a charity's performance; their Financial Health and their Accountability and Transparency. Our ratings show givers how efficiently we believe a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices and openness with information.” (https://www.charitynavigator.org/)
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT): “educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.” (https://www.ready.gov/cert)
Small Business Saturday®: “a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.” (http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com)
Etsy: “the site is an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade.” (https://www.etsy.com)
Amazon: founded by Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com website started in 1995 as a place to buy books because of the unique customer experience the Web could offer book lovers.
Gift cards can be purchased on Amazon to support businesses and used at a later time after a crisis, such as a pandemic—an epidemic spread across large regions. (https://www.amazon.com)
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Credits
Donne, J., Donne, J. and Coffin, C., n.d. The Complete Poetry And Selected Prose Of John Donne.
Gutenberg.org. 2020. The Project Gutenberg Ebook Of Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions By John Donne.. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 March 2020].
Pexels.com, Pixabay, fotografierende
Psychology Today. 2020. “Too Much Time Online Makes You Moodier, Lonelier And Obsessed”. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 March 2020].
Rowe, P., 1997. Civic Realism. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Stock.adobe.com, Manok, David Pereiras
Taleb, N. and Chandler, D., 2007. The Black Swan. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books.
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