The meaning of community has changed. Community used to be the things that hold people together, but it is now our association with a certain group. Personally, I like the first definition better because it explains why we are associated with a certain group rather than we just are associated with a group.
This reading points out three assumptions about communities that aren't necessarily true. The first assumption is that they provide us with a sense of stability. This is not true in every case because they do provide a sense of stability through traditions, but people don't question these traditions because they have always been around. These traditions could be bad for us and we just don't think anything of it. These traditions also often put the needs of the group over the needs of individuals. We should also recognize that some traditions aren't even connected with the original purpose it was supposed it to have. The next assumption is that communities serve our needs. This is not always true because your communities doesn't always promote the best things for us. The last assumption is that communities accept us for who we are. This is not true because our communities mold us into the people that they want us to be and if we change, we typically find a new group.
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