Communities....

Hey! I hope everyone had a great weekend. This is my first time blogging so I'm not quite sure what I'm doing and I apologize in advance for anything weird that I post this week. Anyways, as I was reading this morning I noticed a quote about a recurring theme we have discussed in class/from previous readings: "Under new economic and religious pressures, the idea of a "community" of mutually helpful souls was fast disappearing..." (p. 358). Earlier, the reading talks about the different ways that the 18th century brought about change. Given our discussions about communities, what do you think this quote is trying to imply? Did Winthrop's concept of community as a "city upon a hill" ever exist to begin with or was it "imagined"? Just some stuff to think about. Feel free to post any other thoughts/questions/observations!

See you bright and early,

Emily

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Totally Egregious and Unnecessary but Somewhat Timely Sports Post

Maybe I'm mistaken, but I'm not quite sure that ESPN's upcoming town hall meeting about race and athletes and MLK is historically accurate. Really, I don't remember the "I Have a Dream" speech reading thusly:

"I have a dream. A dream of contract extensions and no trade clauses. A dream of shoe deals and movie cameos. A dream in which black men can be perpetually portrayed as athletes and entertainers--and where they can be subject to extended analysis by snarky white commentators. Oh yes, I have a dream. A dream of a world where all black men have an equal opportunity to make the Top Ten Plays reel. A dream where black women will remain underrepresented in sports coverage of all kinds, and where the WNBA will receive less attention than hockey, which won't be covered at all."

Allow me to employ a sports metaphor to ask: Am I off base here?