akindofblue
Don Juan
I think you make some interesting points. For starters, the telephone and e-mail have really done a hack job on the way people express themselves to one another. If you really want to show someone you care, write them a personal letter. Not just a postcard, but an actual letter. Personalize everything about it. Yeah, you're right, technology has killed some of the finer aspects of our society.
I don't think this is just an American phenomenom (actually, I'm not quite sure why you're so quick to blame this on Americans). The fact of the matter is that technology has always shaped the development of cities. Medieval cities were known for windy streets and cramped conditions because they needed to exist within fortified walls for protection (though with masonry developments, cities could grow larger because they could grow more quickly than they could pre-medieval period). As society developed and nation states with defensible borders began to take shape, you began to see cities spreading further and further apart, as there was no need to huddle close together. And then came the automobile, which completely reshaped the development of American cities forever. From horseback to the moon in 70 years.
The automobile so rapidly changed things, I think it did a number on society. You see, cultures pop up when they have time to be cultivated and to grow. That's what I hate about this multicultural crap we're being fed. What people seem to fail to realize is that multiculturalism kills identity. It homogenizes and makes differences superficial. The most cultural distinct region in our country is the south. It has had time to develop on its own (has its own music, its own food, its own accents, dialects, etc...). Other regions of the world have very distinct, unique cultures. This sense of cultural identity contributes to people's identification with one another and their willingness to openly socialize with one another. In this age of homogenization, that's going to disappear.
And when all else fails, blame it on religion, right? Please. If you'd take some time to visit the country, you'd learn that the easiest place to meet people, the easiest place to talk to people you've never met before, the easiest place to find a quality girl to date is at....church. For centuries it was the social center of society. There and the marketplace, which was, incidently, located next to the church. And the easiest places to talk to people at random are generally the more religious parts of the country (e.g. South Carolina, Wyoming, Utah, Louisiana, Tennessee, etc...). People sing together at a church, they eat together, they often participate in athletic competitions, dance, take health seminars... all at the church. This makes for a more open society.
A lot of this is convenience, though. You can pick up a cellphone and talk to someone you know vs. being forced to meet someone.
And also, as others have mentioned, being cramped. When I lived on a farm, we would greet new neighbors with food. Introduce them to the community. Offer them advice, etc... After living in a townhouse in college, though, how was I supposed to do that? I was surrounded by people who came and went. Very difficult to form a lasting relationship that way. People weren't outside tending to their gardens or mowing their lawns.
Which brings me to my last point: the more people are able to be outside, the happier they are and the more they talk to others. My theory on Sartre: the bitter old man needed to get out of Paris and spend some time in the countryside. Nothing like a bird chirping to get rid of a good case of Nausea.
I don't think this is just an American phenomenom (actually, I'm not quite sure why you're so quick to blame this on Americans). The fact of the matter is that technology has always shaped the development of cities. Medieval cities were known for windy streets and cramped conditions because they needed to exist within fortified walls for protection (though with masonry developments, cities could grow larger because they could grow more quickly than they could pre-medieval period). As society developed and nation states with defensible borders began to take shape, you began to see cities spreading further and further apart, as there was no need to huddle close together. And then came the automobile, which completely reshaped the development of American cities forever. From horseback to the moon in 70 years.
The automobile so rapidly changed things, I think it did a number on society. You see, cultures pop up when they have time to be cultivated and to grow. That's what I hate about this multicultural crap we're being fed. What people seem to fail to realize is that multiculturalism kills identity. It homogenizes and makes differences superficial. The most cultural distinct region in our country is the south. It has had time to develop on its own (has its own music, its own food, its own accents, dialects, etc...). Other regions of the world have very distinct, unique cultures. This sense of cultural identity contributes to people's identification with one another and their willingness to openly socialize with one another. In this age of homogenization, that's going to disappear.
And when all else fails, blame it on religion, right? Please. If you'd take some time to visit the country, you'd learn that the easiest place to meet people, the easiest place to talk to people you've never met before, the easiest place to find a quality girl to date is at....church. For centuries it was the social center of society. There and the marketplace, which was, incidently, located next to the church. And the easiest places to talk to people at random are generally the more religious parts of the country (e.g. South Carolina, Wyoming, Utah, Louisiana, Tennessee, etc...). People sing together at a church, they eat together, they often participate in athletic competitions, dance, take health seminars... all at the church. This makes for a more open society.
A lot of this is convenience, though. You can pick up a cellphone and talk to someone you know vs. being forced to meet someone.
And also, as others have mentioned, being cramped. When I lived on a farm, we would greet new neighbors with food. Introduce them to the community. Offer them advice, etc... After living in a townhouse in college, though, how was I supposed to do that? I was surrounded by people who came and went. Very difficult to form a lasting relationship that way. People weren't outside tending to their gardens or mowing their lawns.
Which brings me to my last point: the more people are able to be outside, the happier they are and the more they talk to others. My theory on Sartre: the bitter old man needed to get out of Paris and spend some time in the countryside. Nothing like a bird chirping to get rid of a good case of Nausea.