A HABIT OF COMMUNITY

A song with a catchy little chorus I heard on the radio one morning on the way to work became stuck in my head. It was very bubblegum, not very inspired, but sometimes something with a nice rhythm will stick with you and pop up at odd moments. When one forgets the title of the song and the rhythm, whenever the song is heard again it feels like a bubblegum revelation. Who hasn’t recognized something that was once unclear, though? In grade school, people suddenly recognized that five groups of five is equivalent to twenty-five, people in their early twenties start to recognize that if they work hard people give them money or security for more than just flipping burgers. However, starting to recognize essential parts of daily life isn’t something particularly independent, or singular. It’s bubblegum pop. It’s something that sticks to the bottom of your shoe, and you remember the chorus all day.

I am a student. I’ve been a student for the past eighteen years or so, and because of this seemingly endless studenthood I’ve read and seen many esoteric, academic, political, inspiring, and defining things. Because of my occasional ability to make an analogy with Socrates, Parmenides, or other philosophers, occasionally I start to think that I am exceptional.

Over the past six or seven weeks, I’ve been going to an office every day. I’ve been sifting through kilobytes worth of cases to find one bit of rationale for the crazy argument that some tax refund isn’t a part of a bankrupt person’s estate, that being morbidly overweight while smoking pot that gives someone the munchies can actually make one legally incapable of working, that a threat made to a woman in the presence of a child which the woman does not take seriously can count as a threat to the woman, and that not having the paperwork for a land contract means the house is in some weird, frustrating gray zone of ownership that isn’t worth fighting over.

Each of these incidents was brought to Northwestern Legal Services by people who are very much individual, but they comprise the community of Erie, PA. The people all have distinct mannerisms which indicate their belonging in this big small town. The issues above are all different, but each issue must be slotted into some sort of legal framework or definition, and a rule must always be declaimed to be in our clients’ favor. It’s the ordinary course of business in the office to always be working on how one plans to argue with another. When the day closes people go home to children, barbecues, giant dogs who need lots of affection, or other home-type things.

Despite the pattern of always working out how to make a distinct issue identical to an existing line of reason, each issue is given great individual care. The attorneys working with these clients would always, by providing tissues or actively listening, demonstrate individual care to the intakes. It reminds one of the meaning of “community” as per Webster’s Dictionary, as a unified body of individuals. Despite the fact that the problems are all different, the involvement the office has had in giving people needed aid has made the clients' problems the problems of the office.

It has been impressive to see community. However, it's not something exclusive to me. I am sure everyone reading this essay finds it significant to build community and to resolve conflict. The refrain of building community and helping resolve conflict is one that's been discussed for centuries, and I can't hope to come up with something innovative in ten weeks. However, the basic message that I hope sticks with me, like bubblegum to the bottom of my shoe, is that there are people who are working every day to build a community in Erie. I can only hope I helped.