I was walking with my friend and Maisie Saturday at Crissy Field in San Francisco and we were discussing our online news sources and how they have changed. She subscribes to Talking Points Memo and said she will probably not renew her subscription next year. There isn’t much new content each day and the folks she had formed a cyber relationship with over the years have mostly disappeared from the site.
I told her about what community used to be like here at Daily Kos: if you lived in the SF Bay area, there were Christmas parties, house parties, picnics, barbecues. Oftentimes, when a Kossack came to visit from out of town, we would arrange a get together for dinner at some restaurant in San Francisco. And then, as I mentioned last week, there were the blogathons and the team of writers and activists who worked together a several times a year to produce them. There were blogathons galore for climate change, Fukushima, the Deepwater Horizon, and extensive coordinated cooperation during natural disasters, like floods or tornadoes, or hurricanes.
Community and its importance seems to be an issue which resonates more these days than it did in the past. In the past, I belonged to several communities simultaneously: the Dog Park crowd, the yoga studio, the AA fellowship, WiserEarth volunteers, and the community here at Daily Kos. These days, as I lament the lack of community in my life, I keep trying to figure out ways to connect with people at this point in my life, when I’m in my 70s.
The new pup, Maisie, helps. She’s such a beautiful and friendly dog that people in the park we go to every evening stop and talk regularly. They know her name and she is starting to play for a few moments off leash with other dogs. There are also the people I am meeting who are helping me with her separation anxiety. And the folks at the yoga classes I go to a few days a week.
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Of all the things the US has chosen to do differently than the rest of the world, I think this may be the dumbest. You'd have trouble finding any urban neighborhood in Europe or Latin America without a plaza. It's just so basic. And yet the US has virtually none! No public space, no public.
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— David Roberts (@volts.wtf) December 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Mental health experts note that belonging to a “healthy’ community provides us with the vital sense of connection to others and to remind ourselves that we are part of something bigger than our own lives.
According to Psychology Today:
Finally, a community can also help to reduce stress and isolation. When we’re part of a community, we have people to talk to and connect with. This can help us to feel less alone—and therefore less stressed—as well as help us feel we’re part of something larger than ourselves. Research shows that people who are part of strong communities tend to have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, and a lower risk of obesity. They are also more likely to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet.
Finding community can feel a little daunting, but it’s well worth the effort, providing relief from the pain that lack of connection, support, and experiences of isolation can bring.
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
