But he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god: he is no part of a state. A social instinct is implanted in men by nature, and yet he who first founded the state was the greatest of benefactors.
- Aristotle Politics Book 1 Chapter 3
After you decide to stop being a slave, acting like an ass, dismount the Donkey ride, and do what they hate…
Well, you Jolly Barbarian you…
You should throw a block party!
Yes, I’m serious.
See, the largest obstacle,
and the largest benefit you can have,
is a healthy relationship with those immediately around you.
Those that, when things go wrong, you can knock on their door.
Whose sons and daughters can marry your children.
Because, when you start having a block party, you are the one putting the foot forward. You show you make the sacrifice. But don’t just do that.
Keep sacrificing.
Keep going.
If one of them is into books, encourage him to start a book club.
And then go.
Because, you see.
Man needs community.
He needs to have a healthy polis.
And, as we saw with yesterday’s post, according to St Augustine we don’t have it. We have instead merely a large band of robbers, pilfering the public wealth.
It is nearly bone dry.
So, start a new one, with a few families.
You’ll be surprised at how much people want a community.
How much they agree on.
How much they disagree on.
And how much work it is to still get together, even after fights and disagreements.
Because you must, if you want to succeed.
Because, if you want to really have a chance to keep a grasp of your heart….
You need a home, and thus a community, in which to lay your bones to rest.
The family is the association established by nature for the supply of men’s everyday wants, and the members of it are called by Charondas ‘companions of the cupboard’, and by Epimenides the Cretan, ‘companions of the manger.’ But when several families are united, and the association aims at something more than the supply of daily needs, the first society to be formed is the village.
- Aristotle Politics Book 1 Chapter 2