On Sun, 12 May 2002, Reggie Bautista wrote: > But with all due respect to the good Doctor, I'd like to suggest an > alternate translation of that acronym. I always think of IAAMOAC as I Am A > Member Of A Community. "Civilization" makes the phrase sound distant > somehow, or monolithic, removed from us mere mortals. "Community" brings it > right to the doorstep of each one of us. It makes it more personal.
In defense of the good Doctor, I've always read him as wanting to express a meaning a little more grand than just "community." Something more akin to, "a community with a certain set of progressive standards that transcend mere issues of survival and aim at human improvement." The "community" part, with its members' reciprocal obligations, is there, but there's more to it in that. It's not as personal, true, but IMO part of his point is that we are all part of something that transcends the personal and does so to our benefit more often than not. On the other hand, it's possible to put the signifiers of civilization above the elements of community (i.e. the people), and then bad things can happen.... Marvin Long Austin, Texas "Never flay a live Episiarch." -- Galactic Proverbs 7563:34(j)
