This is dangerous material to tread on, but I would like to reflect a bit on the idea of community and St. Patrick's Day. While.... This is dangerous material to tread on, but I would like to reflect a bit on the idea of community and St. Patrick's Day. While the day is certainly as good a reason to celebrate as any (without getting into the man St. Patrick and his doings), it always bothered me somewhat the degree to which anyone with a sprinkling of Irish shows their "pride" that day. "Proud to be Irish."

Besides being one of those deadly sins, Irish pride would seem fine in a country filled with ethnic enclaves. Looking further, Irish is not exactly a quality that says much about a person. “You are Irish. Yeah so what. You were born Irish. What have you done lately.”

Irish Pride seems innocent enough, but imagine if there was a "White" pride day with t-shirts that read "Proud to be White." An ethnicity is of course a little different than a race, yet even a day for a minority race may be equally acceptable.

“What have you done?” Celebrating an attribute we could affect like our education or earnings would seem to be even more obnoxious. "Proud to be rich," or "Ph.D. and Proud."

“Ha ha you silly poor uneducated slob!” The t’s would read on those days.

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted wrote some about community, and I think these kind of exclusive communities might be what he was thinking of. Olmsted said the foundation of civilized society is not community (gasp, really???). This is because communities are bound by personal prejudices.

"I am Irish and you are not," an inference of the t-shirts can be taken away.

I know, "get over it. People are just having fun." I ask still, why do we feel the need to point out that we are Irish and "Irish Rocks?"

It may be a little too much to think about when you’re gulping down a green beer and wearing those silly shamrock stickers on your cheeks. On this Saint Patrick's Day, do have fun.

Also keep in mind the things you do or relate to might put up those community walls Olmsted knew existed. Make an extra effort to make your sense of community an inclusive one. Gated communities, whether in our suburbs or in our minds only do harm and go against the very idea of civilization. Be mindful that your community be bound by friendships and not bend to the instincts of tribal gangs of ethnicity or race.

Invite everyone to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day.