6.8 The Tradition of Common Ground
Research About the Counterculture
“Do what you want, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone or yourself,” expresses the ethos of the counterculture. Applied to land, this became: go what you want where you want, just as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.
Back-to-the-landers considered the wilderness as common ground. In the vast woods of Comptche, back-to-the-landers could gather mushrooms, herbs, acorns, water, fish and recycled lumber. It was all there for the taking. Wild crafting “didn’t hurt anyone.”
Participant interviews revealed that old-timers resented “hippie trespassers”. While some newcomers trespassed, others sought permission from old-timers to gather mushrooms, pick berries, or ride horses on their acreage. This helped build relationships. Some newcomers bought large parcels of land to build a home and for wild crafting pursuits. The feedback is clear, however, that “trespassing hippies” were a pattern of behavior that caused resentment among old-timers. This pattern leads to an important finding in this study.
When people gather on what is literally common ground, the ideals conveyed through the concept of “common ground” cannot be assumed. Whether as a shared idea ideal, a physical space, or both, common ground is negotiated through relationships and mutual consent.
The unprecedented urban-to-rural migration trend beginning in 1970 brought new attitudes to rural communities about wilderness-based amenities as civil commons. A study of the reverse-migration trend in the Colorado Rockies showed two types of people are attracted to rural life: nature-preservers and resource extractors. The first group values wilderness-based amenities such as outdoor recreation. The other group has a long-time tradition of making a living from the land’s natural resources. The authors of this study write:
“Popular media accounts and some social science literature suggest that newcomers have very different values than longer-term residents regarding environment, growth, and development issues. These differences result in widespread social conflict.”
They found conflicting values about land use caused resentment between newcomers and established residents. Resentment of immigrants is so common it can be expected. Similar to my study in Comptche, the Colorado Rockies research reveals:
“Newcomers and longer-term residents actually occupy substantially more ‘common ground’ than might be expected or perceived by either group” (Smith & Kranich, 2009).
While there is conflict at the outset, given an opportunity, new and long-time residents are highly capable of finding common ground. Because opportunities abound for residents of Comptche to gather, there is a tradition of opportunities leading to common ground.
With Comptche serving as a model, this study presents seven key findings about resilient communities:
Grassroots change works well in small communities such as urban neighborhoods or rural towns. These communities are capable of effecting change in larger contexts.
Events and traditions create and support common ground that in turn provide:
social cohesion, fundraising, integration of newcomers
traditions, existing and new, that support community and individual health.
Finding common ground resolves community conflict:
through relationships
through mutual support for shared values and ideas
by providing forums for discussion, debate, and celebration.
Common ground can be a place or an idea and is mutually agreed upon.
Newcomers are essential in avoiding stagnation as long-term residents die or move away. Immigrants contribute to community health.
A resilient community has ways to integrate immigrants into the existing social structure.
By being open to all and serving all, organizations and communities thrive.
Doing this ethnography of Comptche, I found that common ground is inherent and can be found in physical places such as the civil commons, as well as in shared values and ideas. In either context, common ground is discovered through relationships and always through agreement.
Up next - Chapter 7: Thanking the Elders and Ancestors
Resources for this post:
Durkheim, Emile, 2001 [1912]. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
Smith, Michael D. and Richard S. Krannich, 2009. Culture Clash Revisited: Newcomer and Longer-Term Residents’ Attitudes Toward Land Use.
Spicer, Lisa Gruwell 2012, c2024. Finding Common Ground: When the Hippie Counterculture Immigrated to a Rural Redwood Community
Theobald, Robert 1997. Reworking Success: New Communities at the New Millennium.
Turner, Victor 1969. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure.