Roe writes about the evolution of National Night Out.
My family moved to New Jersey about five years ago by the way of the military and settled in Medford. That year we attended National Night Out. I estimate there were 115 people. Since then, between school, sports and other activities, we have happily become ingrained in the Medford Community.
A popular theory of community involves four elements. The first is “membership,” which is broken into boundaries, emotional safety, sense of belonging and identification, personal investment, and a common symbol system.
As I’ve become involved in the Medford community, it seems the theory has grown the last few years. Between great activities like the Halloween Parade, Fireworks, and the Art, Wine & Music Festival, residents are giving an overwhelming sense of personal investment. This personal investment translates into a sense of belonging and emotional safety, which is spent with other Medford Residents.
I believe many of today’s societal problems stem from the breaking down of communities. Remember when we were younger and kids spent time riding bikes and playing hide and seek? Parents kept their eyes on all the kids. If you got in trouble, your mom knew before you got home. Seems like all that has been pushed by the wayside in the fear of internet bad news and predators.
I’m not an Inauguration Head Counter, but this August I estimate there were about 900,000 people at National Night Out! Actually I have no idea, but the crowd compared to five years ago was huge, and everybody was having a great time.
How do we get back to “the old days”? Continuing to regain community relationships is the right step. It is great to see the growth of the community events over the last few years, and I hope it continues.
A GIGANTIC hats off to the awesome Medford Police Department for organizing the event, and being an energizer of the community!
