Page 12 - C.A.L.L. #32 - Summer 2010

KALEIDOSCOPE
The Communitarian Scene from all Over and Under
Compiled (and partly translated) by Joel Dorkam

The gusts of change are blowing continuously, sometimes on fast
forward, sometimes on even faster backwards. Need some samples?
Easy: high-tech advances (all kinds of pods and pads), spaceflights,
life expectancy, brain surgery, human organ transplants, etc. On
the other hand: weapons of mass destruction, resumption of piracy,
child slavery, genocide, brainwashing, and human organs trade. Enough? Is it really
progress, or simply a ‘return to human nature?’Or is it possibly mother nature’s way of
applying Darwin’s laws of natural selection, so as to keep some kind of order amongst the
various animals, including ‘Homo Sapiens’ – and avoid overpopulation of our little planet?
Which reminds me of recent findings in some European caves, which tend to prove that
‘Sapiens’ was only one of several kinds of Hominoids who competed for ruling the world, and
our ancestors won. How did they? Obviously by being tougher, more cruel and merciless than
the ‘others’. And that, I reluctantly have to admit, probably has been at the core of our
present genome, (which rhymes nicely with ‘Gehnom’ (‘hell’ in hebrew).
To those who refuse to resign themselves to those blunt findings, and believe like myself that
life in community is the best solution so far to counteract those destructive trends, I would
like to dedicate this Kaleidoscope, together with belated Easter greetings and good wishes for
the upcoming conference in Israel, to Continuous Chasing of Change in Communities , a.k.a.
CCCC – a treat to those who enjoy the use of acronyms. And nothing better for putting
ourselves in the right mood for a serious discussion of our topic than the opening of Chris
Roth’s editorial in the last issue of ‘Communities’, #146 of Spring 2010, relating to changing
attitudes towards family at various intentional communities – some of which seem to have
rediscovered the old-fashioned kind, whilst others would rather do away with that ‘nuisance’
and be able to practice some sort of ‘free love’, sometimes without giving too much thought to
the implications.

Among hot-button topics in intentional community, issues related to
"Family" must certainly rank near the top. If "Kids, Pets, Food, and
Finances" have the most proven potential to turn a tidy five-minute
agenda item into a series of two-hour meetings, then "Family" is
inextricably implicated in all of them. While the likely runners-up in the
hot-topics category, "Relationships, Power, Participation, and Personal
Challenges," may often get less attention in group discussion, they are
equally tied into "Family." If "Family" causes so much trouble, why even
bother trying to combine it with "Community"?
One might as well ask: Whoever had the idea of combining "Humans"
(with all their idiosyncrasies) and "Society" (which we'd like to run
smoothly), or "Bodies" (which age and fall apart) with "People" (who
want to stay young and healthy forever)? In other words, except in those communities which
deliberately exclude them, families, in their multiple forms, are unavoidable parts of the equation,
both for better and for worse. And even in childless communities and in those groups with agreements
that preclude coupling between individuals, some element of "Family" (with both its attendant
challenges and its rewards) still exerts an influence.
The articles in this issue shed light on the multiple ways in which Family can manifest in community,
and offer ideas and many real-life examples of how that association can help, rather than hinder, the
growth, health, and happiness of all involved. We asked potential contributors a wide range of
questions and received an equally diverse array of responses. A quick review of the Table of Contents
is enough to show that no two people experience this topic exactly alike.

12