Caroling to Hunting Men

This has been quite the eventful evening. It started with the festive activity of caroling. Being the season to bring good cheer to others via the singing of songs on the door step, a group of Walla Walla University students went from door to door singing the songs of the season. While this was a most enjoyable activity I wonder why it does not happen more often. It seems that as a society we are becoming more and more separated and isolated, shunning communal activities that once brought us together.

The recent story in the news about the "Black Friday" tragedy in New York in a sense is a typical example of where this leads society. To be so driven to acquire materiel objects that we as a species would step on someone else with no remorse or concern is sad. On the same token were the people gathered there viewing others present as fellow shoppers who like them were enjoying the seasonal low prices and reveling in each others company waiting for the doors to open for a morning of shopping? I think not, more like trying to elbow their way to the front of the line, what your pregnant well an elbow in the kidney will get you out of my way and give me an edge. We are getting so distant from each other that we have forgotten how to interact, behave even.

But not all is doom and gloom. Several students have organized a game of Man Hunt. The object of this game is to complete a route of several locations and get back to the starting location within a given time period. Now you may say... piece of cake... or, what thats just like a foot race... well the catch is that there are several others who drive around in cars that if they spot you will pick you up and deposit you back at the starting point where you can hang out till the next game or in the case of the last game till everyone gets back. 

Its a fast paced game and knowing where to hide and which fence to jump if the need arose makes the chilly air more bearable and the people one meets helps to bring that sense of community and camaraderie. It is often seen that in times of stress or need such as a war or in our own recent history of 9/11 or the hurricanes, people came together to support each other. Well being as such events have more negative aspects than positive aspects, games such as this are a much more exciting and rewarding way to build that sense of community.