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Celebration debates

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Disputes arose over the Celebration school

Rudely dispossessed of any lingering illusions that they had moved to an instant utopia, Celebrationites encountered obstacles to happiness that compelled them to forge community bonds for which there was no planning blueprint. The strong community its creators had hoped for would come into being as much in response to adversity as to the conveniences and advantages built in the town's design. The sense of community that was most authentic and resourceful emerged in response to perceived threats, challenges, and barriers to people's well-being, and, above all, to their property values. This spirited mood, as fractious as it was cohesive, was charged by the energies released by foiled expectations of the packaged good life. Interests beyond their control, whether commercial (the developer), philosophical (the school), or cultural (media and outside opinion), had imperiled Celebrationites' sense of security. It had taken the bitter taste of jeopardy to arouse the appetite for strong society. Ross1999, 318