David Dempsey

Ms. Soring

AP Language and Composition

17 January, 2017

The difficult relationship between communities and individuals

Communities make up the world, but what exactly is a community? I have

been a part of many communities during my short time on earth, and they have made me

who I am today. Without them, I would be a completely different person. When I look

back I realized that not only have those communities affected me, but I have affected those

communities, I can only hope for the better. The connection between a community and its

individuals is a complex two way relationship that can positively and negatively affect both

sides.

How does an individual become part of a community? Someone usually starts off

with a hobby, or something they do often, and then meet others that do the same thing, or

can relate to what the individual is doing. For example, a person living in a town can be part

of that community since the others in the town can relate to what the person experiences in

that town. Or a person can be part of a religious community because they found others that

believe in the same thing they do.

Sometimes what a community thinks is morally wrong, and it is up to an individual

or group of individuals to change that. Most of the time when someone is tired of how they

are treated by their community, they have to be the ones to step up and do something about

it. For example in Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, he states I am in
Birmingham because injustice is here. This shows MLK has taken it upon himself to fight

the injustices in the community around him. He stands as an individual trying to change his

community's for the better because, he's tired of the poor treatment that he is receiving

solely based off of his race. Martin Luther King is one of many examples of individuals

who have decided to better their communities from throughout history.

Communities also come to the aide of individuals from within that community.

After hurricane Sandy in 2012, many musicians ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Kanye

West, and even comedians such as Jon Stewart and Seth Myers, came together and put on a

concert. The proceeds from this concert would go towards the Sandy relief fund to help

individuals rebuild after the storm devastated their homes(Deutsch). Through the concert,

the community really came together and made a lot of money for the relief fund. This

exemplifies the helping relationship the community can have towards an individual.

A community and its individuals can also help communities other than their own.

For example, individuals who are part of the Youtube content creator community make

videos for other individuals from different communities to watch and enjoy. Other

communities are based off of individuals desire to do good. Anonymous is one of these

communities. According to We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, in the beginning

Anonymous was just a group of individuals who shared online jokes, or memes on a website

called 4chan.org. After launching successful web attacks on a Neo-Nazi podcaster who had

insulted one of their members, they realized they had real power to help the world. As the

years continued, they have attacked governments who have supported internet censorship

and loss of internet privacy. These have included operations in Tunisia and Egypt, in which
they hacked and took the government websites offline until the leader or the party that

supports censorship has stood down. These communities have used their focus and

individuals to help other communities.

Communities can create bonds between individuals that can last forever. For

example in the painting reflections by Lee Teter, it shows a combat veteran reflecting on his

comrades who have fallen. This piece shows that the individuals in the military community

create bonds that last even after they die. This bonds can be formed over memories of fond

times they share, or over trying experiences they have gone through. The military isn't the

only community that these bonds can be created through. Communities can put events into

place to create powerful bonds between individuals that they will never forget.

Schools are one of the earliest places an individual joins a community. When

students work to get through difficult tasks such as studying for an upcoming test, or

completing a hard assignment, they find other students who are dealing with the same thing.

This causes them to create friendships and eventually a community within the school.

These communities can be as small as a private rural school, or as big urban public school.

They are all the same, though, in they have inside jokes all the individuals, or students of the

community know, or they all fight against problems they dont like. They meet new people

from other school communities when they go to sports events or an academic competition.

In a way the school community is a foundational period in a young person's development, as

it teaches them how to act towards other individuals or communities, for when they join new

communities later in life.

 New technologies, have created new types of communities for individuals to join.

The Internet, for example, has created new communities online around things such as games

or websites. These communities are restricted to regions, or specific areas, as they have in

the past, but instead can span across states, countries, even the world. Since there is no limit

on due to location, people can meet other individuals from different communities located

almost anywhere in the world and make new friends. These new friends and communities

could teach an individual things they would have otherwise never even heard of and make

the individual a better person.

The introduction of the Internet only made the relationship between individuals and

their communities even more complex. Before the Internet, people would almost always

stick with communities around them, like a church or town community. But rather than

hinder one's ability to participate in communities as some would believe, the Internet made

it easier for an individual to join and create communities. With the creation of social media

apps, like twitter, instagram, or snapchat, communication is instantaneous, so people can

have conversations with others in real time. Individuals can communicate with a group

about a book they read, even if the people are spread out all over the world. The Internet has

expanded horizons, but also brought up problems.

The instantaneous communication isn't always used for good. With the spread of

positive and morally right communities, the spread of bad ones follow. The Internet allows

communities with ideas the rest of the world views as wrong to spread their influence and

grow in numbers. Some of these communities use the Internet to slowly change an

individual's mind to believe in what the community believes in. This can be as small as a
company making an individual think a certain thing is healthy by showing them videos of

everyone consuming it, even though it is terrible for their health. Or this can be as big as a

community, bent on committing acts of terrorism, recruiting people to their cause by lying

to them. The Internet isn't the only place that bad communities influence individuals with

corrupt ideas, but it has aided them greatly, but it ha helped spread good communities and

their ideas to new individuals.

Throughout history there have been many individuals and communities to come and

go, but their influence has been passed down to today. What we, as individuals and as

communities, do today will affect the world tomorrow. Make sure any influences from and

towards communities and individuals today is a positive one that will last for centuries.
BROWNSTEIN, RONALD. "How Has Technology Changed the Concept of Community?

For Some, Making Connections Has Become Easier, but Others Say That Life Has Become

More Isolated." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 16 Jan. 2017.

Deutsch, Lindsay. "Superstars Team up for 12-12-12 Sandy Benefit." USA Today. Gannett

Satellite Information Network, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.

King, Martin L. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco,

1994. Print.

Tater, Lee. Reflections. 1988. N.p.

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists. Dir. Brian Knappenberger. Perf. Anon2World,

Anonyops, Julian Assange. Luminant Media, 2012. Web.