Blah, Blah, Blah

Throughout the book Community, Peter Block looks at the way a community can transform into a better working society. He looks at different example communities and writes about strategies that have worked for them. I find it interesting that now, in the forth chapter, he mentions the quality of communication. The “importance of language” as Block calls it, is the most important factor in the transformation of a community.
If you look at the words, “community” and “communication” you can see that there are very noticeable similarities. The root of the word “commun” comes from the Latin word for “common” usually used in sharing or being similar. The suffixes imply what is being shared. In “community” it is usually the “common” way of sharing a lifestyle and in “communication” it is the ability to share the similarities. I feel that to fully understand the relationship between “community” and “communication” you need to understand the origins. The importance of communication in a community is one of the biggest strategies in transformation.
Communication is the key to all relationships, whether it is the relationship between husband and wife, or the CEO of a company and his/her clients. An open line of communication needs to be present in order to have successful change. We often are too busy focusing on ourselves instead of actually listening to what the other person has to say. This is one of the major problems in communication and transformation. Communities who are looking to transform and change need to start new conversations with the citizens to get a consensus of what changes need to be made. Compromises will need to be discussed and everyone should feel comfortable speaking their mind. It is important when opening the lines of communication in a community; all citizens feel that their opinion is being respected. Without this trust in the community, overall change cannot occur.
“It is the act of engaging citizens in a new conversation that allows us to act in concert with and actually creates the condition for a new context”(Block 32). Block states clearly throughout the book the importance of communication and conversation.
I find as I continue reading this book, Block becomes very redundant and is very general with his ideas. Besides his specific observations and examples, he makes the strategies really basic. Although he is general, it allows citizens to read and understand and then apply it all in their own communities. His ideas of community and conversation can be used in various situations.