Felt community powerlessness

Name(s):

Community victim image

Undeveloped community power

Defeating economic story

Perceived social impotence

Economic victim image

Lack of uplifting community images

Paralyzing community story

Nature

Local communities feel powerless when confronted by the complexity and enormity of global problems and the difficulty of discerning the results of the community's efforts in the world. They may also fear that community uniqueness will be undermined, ignored or glossed over in a global society. These feelings inhibit individual participation in global projects and reduce the context of community action to immediate needs and concerns, so that day-to-day plans ignore global demands.

Incidence

Residents of many cities feel powerless to deal with local government institutions. The demoralizing effect of past failures leads to resignation and a deep sense of cynicism about continuing the pursuit of shared community issues. Residual efforts at improvement tend to be met with failure, and the community spirit which would engender hope in the possibility of future victories is lacking. In rural areas, farming has a lower priority than ever, due to its low productivity relative to the amount of physical work and time required, and small animal raising is regarded as an even less appropriate occupation. Women's roles tend to continue to be primarily as the major caretaker for the household and young children. Unable to recognize a broader range of vocational roles as appropriate, rural areas become static, unable to meet social demands.

Claim

Until the residents of a community are able to synthesize a community image which captures the significance of its heritage, the meaning of the past will be lost and the community will remain unformed.

Broader

Power diminished

Influencelessness

Detrimental story of community future

Narrower

Fear of vandalism

Dumping ground label

Frustrated past goals

Resignation to problems

Low community visibility

Stifled emerging leadership

Deteriorating community identity