After reading the poem aloud this past week, I recognized
how open some of us were about what we believed. Some people wrote beliefs I
didn’t expect them to share. It’s strange; often, we don’t share our beliefs
unless someone tells us to. It got me thinking about not only that, but how
much we don’t share in general. As Americans, we’ve become pretty
isolationistic. Lately, as a country, we’ve been pretty imperialistic, pushing
our beliefs and government on other countries in hopes of making them “better.”
But our society remains quite, and when we do speak it’s not to those who need
it most. Frankly, it seems other countries would do more good imposing their
beliefs on us to improve our society.
Not too
long ago, I followed a documentary where a family of Ogoni Nigerians travels to
live in America. Back in Nigeria, they had taken refuge in a camp in Benin,
West Africa. All of the people in the camp had such a sense of community.
Everyone appreciated everyone. This one family, however, had the ability to
migrate to America and continue a life here. In Africa, if stranger approached
your home and knocked, you would willingly and immediately welcome them in.
Once they reached America, they had to be taught a lesson none of us should
have to learn: not to trust your neighbor. To us, it’s common knowledge. As
children, we were consistently taught not to talk to strangers; that you can
never trust the person next to you. (PBS) (The Real Coming To America)
When
Israel, the father of the family, acquired a job at a metal factory, he noticed
none of the co-workers acknowledge him. When he tried to say hello or greet a
co-worker, they turned their shoulder and treated him as though he was strange
for saying hello. Though some may say that is a product of racism, which may
have been, he was not the only refugee there. A Vietnamese immigrant, Qui, also
worked with him in the factory and happened to be the only other person who
would talk with him. No one else had given notice to Qui either; the employees
had isolated both of them. Eventually, Qui offered to give Israel a ride home
from work considering Israel had yet to acquire a license. During one of the
rides home, cops apparently without reason had pulled over Qui and verbally
threaten the both of them. They had done nothing wrong and the police refused
to tell them why they had been pulled over. Both Israel and Qui were
astonished. In the land of the free, they were threatened to be thrown in jail
for apparently being immigrants. (PBS) (The Real Coming to America)
Now, this
may be a very extreme example to view with my argument, but essentially I want
to convey the lack of community we have as a nation. Instead of living in a
thriving and dynamic community, we reside in micro-societies where we reject
others we find out of place. When I lived in Virginia, I tried my best to
befriend all kinds of people. I had “goth” friends, “nerd” friends, “jock”
friends, and “bros” for friends not because I wanted to be popular or feel good
about myself but because I wanted to appreciate people. I hope someday I can move to
Africa and experience that sense of community even if only for a little while.
Many might say it will be different, because I haven’t lived there all my life
or I’m not of the same race, but there are many who travel to help people, of
all races, in third world nations and have been greeted kindly and welcomingly. I’m
not saying everyone should move to Africa nor am I saying Africa is better than
America. There is so much oppression against all people from both the government and corporations in Africa. People die every
day by that corruption and few are brought to justice. No, I’m saying we should embrace community and
appreciation of all people more so here in America.
After reading this consider the following questions:
Do you think our country has a lack of community?
Do you think our country is fine the way it is?
Would you have greeted Israel? Why?
How do you think America could improve from other nations
ideals, how do you think we, America, could improve other nations?
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Why?
Citations
. "The New
Americans." PBS. PBS, 12 04 2004. Web. 21 Jan 2012. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/newamericans/newamericans/ogoni_intro.html
The Real Coming to America. BBC, Film.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V2qG5chkv0&list=PL80AF246B3EBD5FEB&index=1&feature=plpp_video>
Not only is this an interesting topic, I must say that I agree with you. Our country has an extreme lack of community, though there are obvious reasons as to why. But, I am similar to you in the fact that I have a very diverse group of friends, and I befriend such people for one simple reason: I like them. I do not care what they look like or what they believe in and such. I care about how their personalities are. Unfortunately, not everyone has that mindset.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this, I believe I would have greeted Israel. Why? Because he is a person. That mentality is something that America could gather from other nations. Now, I am not saying that we should open our door for every single person, but we should be less afraid of those new to us. We should be more tolerant of those different from us. And, if we stop shoving our beliefs down everyone's throats, others would be more willing to listen as well.
There is a lot of truth to the statement, that we as a country lack community. Yes, there are some places that don’t follow that status quo, but as a whole, I think that’s fairly accurate. But I don’t think that it’s a specific person’s fault, but more society as a whole. I think that at one point, we were once able to care about our neighbors and opening your doors at night, wasn’t a big threat. Nowadays, we have learned that sometimes being neighborly can be dangerous. How many times have robberies been committed on people’s own neighbors? They’re who we trust the most, which makes us the most vulnerable to them. People are taken advantage of by the people that we communicate with the most. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that people have to change their focus from “we” to “me”. We feel like we have to protect ourselves from being victims. The more you tell people about yourself, the more vulnerable you become. It’s this fact that makes people close up inside themselves and keep secrets. It’s the best way that we protect ourselves. Is our country fine this way? No, but unfortunately I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteAs to the question, would I have greeted Israel? It’s hard to determine what you would do, when you’re not in that specific situation, but I would like to think that I would. My parents have taught me to always greet people that you meet, no matter who they are or what they look like. Everyone is a persona and has feelings and they deserve to be shown the respect that we all crave. I would feel rude if someone greeted me, and I gave them the cold shoulder.
I think that America could improve from other nations if we were more tolerant of change. As a society we flee from things that are foreign to us. Unfortunately, it’s these foreign ideas that are usually good ones. Other countries could learn from us if we weren’t to abrasive. We force people to listen to us and we are unwilling to negotiate. We come in with a mindset that we are right and everyone else is wrong. If we combined our ideas, the sky would be the limit in the field of ideas.
I think America has lost our sense of independence and taken it to a whole new level. We think only for our selves and don’t bother taking a second look at the homeless man asking for change. Of course everybody wants to live the “American Dream” and be successful but when most Americans think about the meaning of successful I guarantee a majority of people would say its is having a six figure income and being wealthy. To people in third world countries who have dirt floors and maybe one meal a day (if that), being successful would be being able to clothe their child and survive. We have it so good in America i feel we have lost our sense of community. I think we need to take a second to appreciate everything we have. I think we could learn something from other countries and be more accepting of other peoples lifestyles whether its by choice or not.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was well-written and I can relate to it. America has in fact lost its sense of community. It seems everyone just does everything for their own benefit. As exaggerated as it sounds, I feel most of us are self-interested. We really only consider others when we need something from them. Think about it, the majority of us college students don't really talk to our classmates or neighbors unless we need a favor from them. In other countries it is completely different; people take pride in serving others and in being courteous.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that America has a lack of community when compared to other countries around the world. I believe that the amount of community an area has has a lot to do with the size of the population in that specific area. For example i've lived in a small town my entire life, and I know almost everybody in it. Whenever people in my hometown see each other they say hello and stop and talk for a minute. It's almost like having a big family living in one town.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this is not the case in big cities such as New York, or Los Angeles. There are so many people and so many things going on in these cities that people don't have the time to stop and talk to someone. After living in a big city like that for a while people just learn to worry about their own business and not waste their time worrying about others. Even since I have moved to Tallahassee I have noticed a big change in the way people act towards one another. I think everyone needs to take time out of what their doing every now and then and simply make an effort to get to know one of your neighbors or one of your classmates. If everyone actually did this once in a while our lack of community in our country might not be so bad.
I completely agree with your topic. I believe that America has lost its sense of community. People are more focused on stepping on people in order to get to the top. They do not value other people, they are more focused on themselves. Americans have become so isolated and focused on success that they have forgotten about all the other people here. I am not saying that everyone is like this, but it is something that i have noticed. I believe in community and accepting everyone. I believe that everyone should be accepting. I definitely would have greeted Israel because i have seen what its like for people who do not have anyone in this world. My older brother is gay and he came out when he was just in high school. I have seen people reject him for being who he was but he always held his head up. I have never discriminated against him, in fact i have always been one of his main supporters. He is now a junior in college and has more friends than ever. I believe that people now would rather stick to themselves than accept anyone that may be slightly different than them. People don't notice the damage they do when they reject others but i believe we as a nation have to change. We love to say we help other nations, which we do, but the second it comes to helping those who are different in our own nation, we just ignore them and their problems. I am not saying that everyone is like this, but it is becoming more and more prevalent.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think that America has lost its sense of community. Similar thoughts represented in this piece were on my mind one day and I decided to do a little experiment. For a whole day, no matter who it was, when I passed someone I would smile at them, if they smiled back I would say hello. I also took the time to notice other people and how they would react when passing others. I was absolutely astonished that about 90% of the people that passed by were either too busy on their phone or would do anything necessary to avoid eye contact with the person they were passing. I think it horrible that in today's world people don't even acknowledge the existence of others. People just stay in their own little bubbles and don't take the time to enjoy a smile, a nod or even the simple act of looking at someone and letting them know that they are not invisible. I think there is a definately a problem with society today and I believe it can be fixed if people pull their heads out of their butts and notice whats going on around them.
ReplyDeleteI do believe America has lost its sense of community. Everyone seems to be a stranger, and some people are even afraid or don't care to leap to greet someone. It's as if everyone is so wrapped up in their own personal life and only talk to people in their "in group." No I do not think our country is fine the way it is now. I am a very friendly person so I believe everyone should be kind and caring. Especially in the situation like Israel. When you get a new job, you want to feel accepted by your co-workers not ignored. Yes I would have greeted Israel, it's the right thing to do in my eyes. I am not really sure how America could improve, I feel like America doesn't want to change. They only want to keep doing what they know, any other idea mentioned is thrown out the window. No I do not think you are exaggerating because I feel the same exact way as you do.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the United States has a lack of community compared to some cultures. I come from a Hispanic culture that I am used to saying hello to people everywhere and if they are in a group of people I know, the hello is normally paired with a hug a slight kiss on the cheek. The American culture has a much colder and separated way of greeting people. Is this necessarily a fault? Not exactly, but it does make feeling welcomed harder. Once Americans know one another then they will greet each other in much friendlier ways and without hesitation. I personally would have greeted Isreal if he were to have greeted me. I say this because I have had to become accustomed to the American culture and have learned to look at someone I don’t know and keep walking, or I might give a small smile but that is it. I guess the only way to improve this would be to change the American culture, which will be very difficult. Referring to the question of exaggeration, I do not believe you are exaggerating in the point of the lack of community in America but I feel as though the example of the cops was very different from the point and it would be logical to assume that the pulling over was done not because of a lack of community but because of a type of xenophobia that is occurring and has occurred in this country for centuries.
ReplyDeleteAmerica has most definitely lost its sense of community!! Everyone is more concerned about themselves than as the country as a whole. It is a major problem and I don't think that America wants to change or we would have made changes by now! People are way to wrapped up and busy with everything they have going on to even acknowledge someone that walks into the same room as you or walk by you on the street. If people decide to be more social then yes, we can turn it around as a whole.
ReplyDeleteMajority of the people in America do not know how a community should act. There are some communities that are nice and help each other, and then there are others who do not do whatsoever. It all depends on the type of people you live with and whether you agree with what they do. Everyone is trying to be a step above the rest and no one considers helping the neighbor so they can in turn help you. I think America needs to step up and change the way they act and their principles and values or America will fall from world power status. Eventually we will be the ones who are being controlled by another world power. If I met Israel, I would have greeted him back. I would not have ignored him, that is rude, but many people in America are self-absorbed and only worried about themselves. I think that our government is very self-absorbed too. We want to change everyone into becoming like us, when in reality, we are not doing so well either.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with the author opinion about the United States loss of community. I personally know all of my neighbors very well and have at least met almost everyone in the neighborhood once or twice. I'm not saying that there aren't people who isolate themselves from others, but I feel like you will find people like this anywhere in the developed world. In my opinion, the loss of community that people perceive is based on the people that they surround themselves with rather it is intentional or forced. For instance, I have plenty of friend that live in large gated communities with strict rules that keep the entire development uniform. Although it is not my friends choice to live in these communities, these are the people that they are surrounded by, and this may be how they perceive the American public. Images like these represent a small portion of the American population, and cannot be taken as a representation of the American public as a whole. In all, I might be willing to agree that the United States no longer follows the "white Picket fence" mentality of the 1950's, I believe that there is still plenty of heart in the United States and there is no where in the world I would rather live.
ReplyDeleteI believe our country does have some community issues when it is dealing with more specific things as apposed to our community as a country. Everyone has their own reasons for doing things and that is why we form into cliques, to find other people with the same interests as us. doesn't mean that there is no community, just means there are many little communities that form to make the community USA. About Isreal, I may or may not have said hello just because i have a shy nature to me, not because I don't like him. It is just how people are. You never know how someone will act around other people.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that America has a lack of community. Why do little kids need to go outside and play when their Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii are all waiting for them in the living room? Why are we glued to our phones texting a friend or two rather than talking to the people we’re with at the moment? I feel like an old woman when I complain about new technology but I feel like it is a huge reason why we have lost our sense of community. When I lived in Gainesville, all six houses on the street where we lived knew each other and regularly had parties, went out to dinner, or just sat outside in lawn chairs while we kids would play for hours. On Saturdays someone would buy enough doughnuts for all six families and we would all eat together then do yard work. Now in my new house, we only know one family on the block. There are definitely some major issues we as a people in this country need to work on. I don’t really the country can be fixed until the people of the country fix themselves…
ReplyDeleteI like to think I would have greeted Israel, welcomed him warmly into our country and helped him and his family out in any way they needed. I am not sure how I would really act though, which bums me out. It seems to me that our country is doing a pretty decent job of imposing our ways onto others; we seem to think we have the magic stuff to fix everyone. I think we could learn many things from others, community, work ethic, the true meaning of need, gratefulness, and probably happiness as well. I do not think you are exaggerating at all.
I was also very surprised and impressed with how much we shared in class when we did the Creed-styled free write. The lack of community in America that you described can be seen everywhere, in every situation. Growing up we are subjected to seeing so much discrimination and separation between people. The story you shared as your example was really powerful. Lack of community, however, can be seen anywhere around the world, not just America. I think that the question of if our country is “fine the way it is” is such an unanswerable question. I do not think you’re exaggerating; feeling passionately about this subject is definitely something to be proud of. It is important for there to be people like you who want to make a difference, raise awareness, and change the lack of community that we all experience.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with this topic that America has lost their sense of community, but I also believe that it is based on ourselves and the people we surround ourselves with. If we get to know our neighbors and continuously yearn to meet new people, then we will have that connection we are trying to gain back. In past generations, neighbors were able to visit each others front porch, gather meals and even take care of each others children, but who says we cant do that now? Sometimes we are busy and just cant give the attention we wish to give to others. However, it is no doubt over the years that America has lost their sense of community. Back then, children used to ride their bikes outside past dawn with no worries of being in danger. Now-a-days, parents are afraid to let their kids walk or play outside in broad daylight without extreme supervision. We no longer feel safe, we no longer see people caring for one another like they used to, we sometimes feel isolated and disconnected from the world. We have evolved from a country of primary relationships to one of secondary relationships. People in a community should share a common role in looking out for one another. Its a value that many grandparents had years ago. This also ties in to the amount of technology that has been presented to us which has disconnected us from face to face interaction. Many people now feel isolated and out casted from groups. Now-a-days, there are more people that help others because they get something in return rather than doing it out of the kindness of their hearts.
ReplyDeleteSince I am very outgoing, I would have definitely greeted and befriended Israel. In fact, he may not have even approached me first, but rather I would have seen that he was new to the job and started conversation.
I believe that out country has lost its sense of community on an every day basis level. Day to day our country doesnt act like a community should towards one another, everyone is about their own self and their own family, and on some occassions they half-heartedly care about their neighbors but thats about it. Theres not enough time in Americans every day lifes to have a relationship with the community. One thing I can say about Americans is that even though we dont show it on an every day basis, when the time comes and the community needs to come together we do that. For instance when 9/11 happened the whole community stood by each other and risked their lifes for people that they didnt even know. I feel that it would be nice to have that great communal feeling every day but i dont know if its possible in the fast paced world that Americans live in today.
ReplyDeleteOther countries, especially in Africa, have poorer lives, health, and quality of life for reasons that could be possible in America as well. Our government implements a military, police force, medical research, and provides a set of laws in which we abide by to enjoy safe, happy lives. Due to our success, we wish to spread this belief in government to other countries so others may have what we enjoy. It is our sense of community that unites us as Americans. Sure there are rude people, mostly in the North, but it is the same everywhere. If other nations ideals were so great, then why aren't they the most powerful country in the world, gross the highest GDP in the world, or provide the best protection and medical care for their citizens. The USA is doing fine.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is the greatest country on Earth. Have we not proven this time and time again. We have never been conquered and there is something to be said for this. My family routinely gets together and i know all my neighbors if thats not community then i don't know what is. don't get me wrong there is many things that i would like to change but we are Americans and we need to remember this. American capitalism has spread all over the world. the world is more prosperous then it ever has been we are just falling behind the curve. Take Russia for example, they are experiencing a radical capitalist takeover. i believe you fell for the sob story, there are many problems in America and if you feel for these people from foreign nations you are taking the side that help is needed. Proud to be an American.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though immigrants that come to America form their own community with other immigrants, and if these immigrants are legal then they are Americans, so to say that there are no communities in America is not true. There are many places all over the country where certain ethnic groups and races have their own community, such as china town and little Italy.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like sometimes there isn't much sense of a community and people worry about their lives and don't care much about others. It would be a good thing if people could be a little more social. However I do think that America is in the position that it is right know because of this way of thinking. Because if you look at it in a economic way they say that when everyone strives to get something that is important to them you will have economic progress. So by basically focusing on what is important for you, you can help the economy. And if you look at it this way the US is a lot better of than Africa. But that being said I still believe that we should get more involved with the community
ReplyDeleteOur country definitely has a lack of community, but there was a time when there was a lot of community. When our grand-parents and parents were growing up there was a lot more community than there is today. This country needs a BIG change in multiple ways. First and for-most we need to get the corruption out of our government as well as some people that aren't doing their job. From there the "new" reformed government should be able to sort most of our problems out. This country needs to go back to the good old days of how our founding fathers meant for it to be. I would have greeted him, but wouldn't go out of my way to have deep conversation with him at first. America shouldn't be taking ideals from other countries at this point. We need to take a step back and look at how this country has changed and make the changes it needs to get back on track. There are some ideals we could give to other countries like freedom of speech and things like that. I don't think you are exaggerating. I too was friendly with all types of kids because I don't care if people don't think that a certain group of kids is popular and if you want to judge me for talking to someone and being friendly than you aren't worth my time anyways.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with all of your statements, mostly the statement about Americans becoming isolated people. More now than ever we have become a nation of overshares. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Tumbler, all of these things push Americans to post and upload every second of our lives to an international community. If anything Americans have streamlined their communication. In a matter of minutes our entire nation can upload and download data. However, when an entire room is screaming their life story at the same time it is often hard to hear anything at all. This is why American community appears out of touch with the more rural countries (in Africa for example). Places where Facebook and social networking do not exist force people to network face to face. And as we all have learned as children we are much more likely to help someone we know in person, than a man you met on the internet.
ReplyDeleteOur country definately has a lack of community. Hell all it would take is a government that could bring our nation and people together, and currently we are the farthest from that. If the nation as a whole could come together like we did during 9/11, our country would be 1000x better than what it is now.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think our country is going down the hole because first off we need a better president that won't promise miracles and will be real to the people of America. We need every single person in this country to work, whether it be at the local Mc.Donalds flipping burgers or a high executive. Everyone needs to get off their ass's and work.
I would definately greet Israel, I like to meet all sorts of people and get to know everybody I can. Unfortunately for Israel though, he is definately not helping out the nation's cause and in some way hurting the country.
America could improve themselves by focusing on cleaning up the streets inside this country, and less on the streets in others, given that there are safe living conditions through-out the world.
Do you think our country has a lack of community?
ReplyDeleteDo you think our country is fine the way it is?
Would you have greeted Israel? Why?
How do you think America could improve from other nations ideals, how do you think we, America, could improve other nations?
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Why?
I think our community do has a lack of community mainly because of the way that people act. We tend to stay in our own circle of friends unless we need something from someone else. The way we live, we are able to live without the help of others, unlike in Africa. I think our country is fine with the way it is because so far, I haven't had any issues with not knowing my neighbor. We can choose to be selective of the people that we associate with. I would have probably greeted Israel because I was too like him at one point in time. When I first moved to America, nobody would really talk to me; I hardly knew how to speak English. Being in his shoes truly allows me to understand how he must have been feeling so I would have definitely greeted him. Honestly, I think America is fine with the way it is because so far there have been no real problems with neighbors (that i've seen.) You might be exaggerating a little bit because although the communities that we live in may not be as close, the community (people that we choose to associate with), is probably just as good.
That may be one of our country's most imminent problems. Think about it, its almost impossible to trust anyone anymore. I think this country is corrupt and covered up so we can't see. I think we are far from OK.I would probably greet him. I would just be kinder to others.
ReplyDeleteNo' I think you are on target.
For a country that is "The melting Pot" of the world we certainly treat other cultures and people like they are a plague. We need to learn to respect others because they may be less fortunate than we are. We also have this sense that people who are not well known by others tend to be a danger to our minds. We think they might harm us because we don't know what their personality is like. In a broad range we need to understand that we are just as strange and diverse as other people from other countries and backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement, but being an American I have to defend our side of the story. The reason we do not trust everyone we see is because it is foolish, too. I just read a crime bulletin email on this campus about someone asking to use someone else's cell phone. The person who asked for it was in their car, got it from the pedestrian, and kept it while proceeding to drive off. He should not have talked to this stranger or even acknowledged him. On the other hand, a grown man should be able to make an accurate assessment of whom they encounter. Children cannot do this which is why we tell them to not talk to strangers. I will agree with you in saying that we have lost our sense of community. College has helped me break the rules and talking to strangers is a piece of cake.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of America does lack a strong sense of community. But, we have all been taught to live like this from things we read in the news and our parents, and usually we don't need things from our neighbors so we just avoid going out of our way to talk to our neighbors. I think the way our country is working fine the way it is right now, even though we could maybe grow to be a bit more open to our neighbors, but it is completely necessary. I definitely greeted Israel. I don't have qualms talking to new people, and in high school I had several exchange students live with me, so I know its tough to go to a new place and barely speak their language and feel like an outsider. I think America could learn to be a bit more neighborly like you said, but I think other countries could learn from our freedom, immigration, and our entertainment. I don't thing you were exaggerating, you were just showing a more extreme example of what you wrote about.
ReplyDelete