The appeal of cities

Print Article

Ideas that seem ordinary can also be radical. Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical says, “Radical is not something reserved for saints and martyrs.”

I am an ordinary, 20-year-old radical, currently splitting residence between my home in Telford, Pa., and my Goshen (Ind.) College small group house. I’m not sure where I want to live after college, after reading “The Appeal of Cities” (Oct. 2), my uncertainty has only been further complicated. I never knew I shared a dream of living in a place like Denver, Pittsburgh or New York.

Sometimes I surf Wikipedia, looking up city skylines, climate statistics, public transportation grids and demographic make-ups. Yet after reading the article I surfed the Mennonite Voluntary Service Web site, searching for updates on service locations.
What if I moved to my hometown after graduation or, to fulfill my urban inclination, Philadelphia. What would happen if we all moved out, if we all decided to move somewhere deemed “ordinarily radical”?

Who knows if I will end up in southeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a thought I’ll consider. Moving home? Maybe it’s just ordinary, but what if it’s ordinarily radical?

Associated Issue: Urban migration - Oct. 2, 2007

Associated Article: The appeal of cities

Current Stories

Articles

• Enlisted
• Redeeming the power, redeeming ourselves
• From preservation to engagement

News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer

• WEB EXCLUSIVE: ROMEOs are "Retired Old Men Eating Out"
• Goshen chapter of ROMEOs keeps hope alive
• Students learn theology in butchering
• CLC sees unequal racial, gender balance
• Mennonites and Catholics seek healing
• Children enjoy Harvest Day at Crossroads in Virginia
• Methodist bishop shares peace background
• John Byers, MWC Koinonia member, dies
• Preserving an art tradition in Guatemala
• Duke professor speaks about food at CMU
• CPT recalls team from Algonquin blockage
• MCC ships aid to Nicaragua after hurricane
• New name for Shalom Foundation
• Group meets to reduce handgun violence
• MDS considers response to California wildfires

Columns

• An army of love
• A river runs through it
• People-friendly good news
• Move beyond prayer to stop the war

Readers Say

• Look at the past objectively
• Why start at the top with health-care access?
• The idol in our midst
• The idol in our midst II
• The idol in our midst III
• Plea for U.S. leaders
• Plea for U.S. leaders II
• The appeal of cities
• Getting started in leadership