Spring Break was last week and we have all had time to relax
with our friends and family. Whether you went on vacation or stayed at home
each and everyone of us spent an amount of time out in public interacting with
people at the beach or at the store. Over my Spring Break I spent time in Dubai
visiting family. After spending a week over seas, coming back to the United
States I find myself asking has something changed? Have people always been this
way? So what has changed?
A few weeks ago someone posted a blog entitled “ Politeness
A Thing of the Past”. At the time I just couldn’t agree with the point of view
expressed in this post, but after coming back to the U.S from the U.A.E. the
points expressed in that blog have seemingly become real.
During the time I spent in Dubai I saw it all good and bad;
but the overwhelming impression that I got from the experience is that the
people as a whole are generally more caring and considerate than the people
back at home. To me, the amount of order and civility came as a shock. On my
very first day there my sister and I visited the Dubai Mall. Still jetlagged
and without a watch my sister asked someone for the time. Instead of smugly
telling her the time or even ignoring her as I have come to expect from someone
at home, the man actually offered my sister his watch. Now this was an
extremely generous act, but was it just a fluke? Just a one in a million chance
we would asked the worlds most generous man for the time? To me it didn’t seem like this was the
case. Over the next few days we were treated kindly and respectfully by almost
everyone we met. On another occasion my family and I witnessed a man drop some
money. Before we could blink, a local man picked the money up and chased someone
halfway down the street to return it.
In just a week I feel like I have gone from being skeptical
about the intentions of the people around me to feeling safer than I ever have
in the United States. So just what is it? In all of Dubai and the U.A.E. only
fifteen percent of people are citizens. The rest of the population is composed
of foreigners from Asia, Africa, and Europe. In my own mind, a country with
such diversity and so many cultures wouldn’t be nearly as safe as the U.S., but
oddly I felt more at home there than I do here. I’m no expert on this matter,
but from what I understand the crime rate is low because the penalties are much
greater for crimes there then they are in the United States. As a result drug
problems are non-existent and alcohol is highly regulated.
Arriving back into the United States, came as another shock.
Having been acclimated to the civility of the U.A.E., I was greeted by surly
TSA workers at JFK, who just didn’t seem to like people. This came as a huge
disappointment to me. Having lived in the United States my entire life I knew
that this was not right. The way the TSA workers were treating people would
horrify most Americans. Unfortunately, for so many foreign travelers this was,
and will continue to be the first impression that people from an American, an
idea that truly disturbs me.
All this being said, there is no were I would rather live
than the United States, and I realize that nine out of ten people will always
do the right thing. This being said, my question is what do you think about the
civility in the U.S.? Have you ever been to another country and noticed a
change in the way people treat each other? And finally, do you think that the
U.S. should have greater penalties for crimes? Or do you think that greater
penalties would infringe on our constitutional rights?
I personally have never had a huge problem with civility in the United States, but I also believe that at our age, most of us haven't truly seen "the United States." There is no way I could make an in depth opinion on the civility in the U.S. by just what I have experienced until now. I've been to Barbados twice, and I didn't find the civility to be much of a difference. Yes, the Islanders always seem friendly and outgoing, but there's also pushy street sellers all around trying to shove different products into your hands! Every country has a different "feel" to it, and because of different cultures, people are going to act differently every where you go.
ReplyDeleteI am not exactly sure what I think about the civility in the United States. Personally, I don't have any problems with it, but I also have never been to another country. Since I haven't been to another country I don't have anything to compare the United States to. I think that wherever you go there is always going to be different kinds of people. Some of them will be nice and kind while others will be rude and obnoxious. I think that the civility of a certain place cannot be determined by looking at a certain group of people, and I think that it all depends on what kind of area you are in.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that there is a problem with civility, but I don’t necessarily think that it’s only here in the US. I think that everywhere you go, you will run into kind people and people that you can’t stand to be around. I think that the main reason why people blame incivility on the US is because they haven’t really seen or heard anything different. If we think that all US citizens are rude, than every time we see a rude act, we allow that confirm our beliefs, but if we see a generous act, we put it in the back of our minds as a freak accident. If there was one thing that I learned in my Psychology class is that we tend to generalize based on only a few incidences. For some people, they think that if they come across two jerks in a row, then that means that the entire country, city, race, etc., is just like that too. But the same could be said reversed. You pass by a few really nice people and now you think everyone there is incredibly nice. I think that there are a both bad and good people in the world, regardless of what country you’re in. The few times when we’ve seen true generosity or complete selfishness are more imbedded in our minds than in everyday occurrence of an “average Joe.” I think that if we noticed these “average” people more, we would realize that our good/bad ratio is more different than we imagined, and that the world is a little bit more balanced.
ReplyDeleteI think that people in the United States have too much pride. We have made money the most important object in our lives and for some people they have made it the only things in their lives. If was too be asked if I could be rich and unhappy or poor and happy, I would definitely choose to be poor and happy. People in other countries like the one you visited have seen America and if they did I think they would be shocked. We have industrialized everything to make it as powerful and successful as possible and we’ve let it go to our heads. We want the best and the biggest and when we see people who don’t have that we judge them. Penalties for crimes are fair I will admit that and we have come up with ways of teaching people lessons, and I don’t think they should become any more enduring.
ReplyDeletePeople in the United States as a whole are not very civil in my opinion, but then again, I have not traveled nor experienced an encounter with everyone in the nation. I have traveled to Australia, France, and Spain. In Australia, there were mixed experiences with the locals. In my opinion, it was exactly like the U.S. In France and Spain, I found that people were a little more civil, but I still didn't notice a noticeable difference between these countries and the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI think the United States should have stiffer penalties when punishing people. Right now, over 2 million people are incarcerated which is way more than any other country. All we do is sentence people to jail most of the time. When people were hanged to death or given an embarrassing punishment, they were less likely to commit the crime again. Many people would argue that innocent people would be killed or punished, but as long as we don't torture people and give a swift, certain, and severe punishment. This topic of harsher penalties for crimes is a great debate in the criminological world. Every one of us would say that people need harsher punishment as long as it wasn't them.
Reading your blog made me want to go to Dubai. From my experiences, I can say that I have been to other places were people are more curtious and kind. The country where I am from has a very different culture to that of the American culture. For example, I have noticed how people burp in public and then they'll just say "excuse me." In my country, burping in public is one of the most embarassing things ever! No one ever dares do it. I think that people should have greater penalties for crimes as Dubai. Having them clearly shows that crime rates are lower.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the United States has a civility problem. It seems like everyone is too busy and consumed up in their own lives, so god for bid if you asked someone on the streets what time it was. The person would probably give you a weird look thinking "don't you have a cell phone?" Yes Ive been to Mexico, I went there last year as a graduation present from my grandparents. Everyone there was so kind, and greeted me at the airport. I just felt like the people in Mexico were so much nicer than the people in the United States. But I don't know if they were only like that because we were in a tourist area. Yes I do believe the United States should have greater penalties for crimes, maybe there wouldn't be so much crime!
ReplyDeleteI definitly agree with harsher punishments. In my book if you steal you should get a finger cut off. Guaranteed they wont do it again. Its so easy to get off of a crime now a days if one has money for a good lawyer its ridiculous. Its a very corrupt system that needs to be changed.
ReplyDeleteThe reason Dubai may seem so different is because of the strong religious presence in their everyday life and laws. It's amazing what incorporating such a strict religion can do to a society. In Islam, such requirements call for great generosity for those less fortunate, which explains the generosity shown by the man offering his watch. Though I doubt sharia law exists in the UAE, stealing is a highly frowned upon act in their society. For that reason, the man who picked up the others money and ran to return it to him simply did not want anyone watching to hold a negative view of him. In America, no emphasis is put in our society or laws.
ReplyDeleteI have never been out of the country so I have not encountered any other type of people than the American population. I think Americans are rude and so obsessed with things that are not important to life. Im sure if I went to another country, I would want to stay forever. I feel as if Americans will do anything to make themselves look better, even if it means turning your back on people or become incredibly selfish. I can't stand people like this.
ReplyDeleteI spent a week in the ghettos of the Dominican Republic, and never in my life had I seem a more happy community. It amazed me. I like out Constitution, I think it is the best in the world. Even though our justice system isn't perfect, I think its damn good compared to a lot of other countries. American's could have perhaps just gotten used to living at a higher standard that some people and are not as satisfied with their lives. I don't know, maybe rudeness is just a fad of the century. I suppose we will see what the future brings.
ReplyDeleteI think civility depends on where you are and who you are with or surrounded by. Civility can be everywhere and to say that the United States has lost it, is just making a generalization based on a few situations. I think it honestly depends on the person and the culture. For example, one of my best friends is from Morocco and over there, they live an entirely different lifestyle. They pray to a different God, eat a certain way, wear specific wardrobe and overall just have different customs. Therefore, we can not always assume that our way is the right way. I think that there are both good and bad people in the world, regardless of what country you’re in. I do believe that the United States should have greater penalties for violent acts, so that hopefully there would be less crime. Not all of the crimes out there need to be harsher, but the ones that are truly horrible. Maybe people will see the consequence and scare themselves out from doing it.
ReplyDeleteI think the civility of the average american is extremely lower than citizens of other countries. I have been to the Bahamas once before and I did noticed the kindness of the citizens there. Everyone one was helpful if me and my family weren't sure where we were going. I don't think punishments should be any stricter in the U.S. If we start to raise punishments for crimes here then americans will begin to complain that their constitutional rights are being violated.
ReplyDeleteDifferent places come with different customs and etiquettes that people treat each other with. If I go to Korea, I won't "feel" so Korean anymore since everyone is just like me. It is true that civility of America is a little shitty, but just because one does something, doesn't mean that the whole population is like that. I don't think that punishments should be any more stricter in America because they are already pretty strict as they are. Although some cases are exceptions, most seem to be fitting for the crime committed.
ReplyDeleteWow, someone paid attention to my blog post!! Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteObviously we already know how i feel about civility in the U.S. I had the opportunity to go to Sweden two summers ago and i had an awesome experience. While i didn't have anyone offer me their watch I did feel extremely welcome almost everywhere i went. The majority of Swedes also speak English which made me feel more welcome in their homeland. As for harsher punishment, I’m not exactly sure where i stand on that. If there was enough data to prove that a harsher system would drastically reduce crime and civility, then I’m in favor.
I do think there should be greater penalties put in place, it would solve a lot of problems. it wouldn't be an infringement on our right , but rather a way to make a safer. I think that the u s could be better about civility, but for the most part people are genuinely kind. I have been to foreign countries but have experienced less civility in them than in the us.
ReplyDeleteI think that the United States is not as friendly as other countries. I am from Venezuela and when you go into stores or restaurants things operate much differently but that is because of the culture. That being said, the United States is a great country where safety isn't as big of a threat or danger as other countries.
ReplyDeleteI've said this over and over and over again both here on the blogs and in real life: America as a whole is judgmental, hypocritical, blind-sighted, and devastatingly ignorant. It amazes me how we don't know how much we don't know. I cannot agree with you more on our lack of civility. The world agrees along with you.
ReplyDeleteI think the civility in America may be a little disappointing at times, but there are still many kind people here that are willing to help you. I have been able to go to several different countries outside of the U.S. and I have found that the general amount of civility you find in the citizens of a country can change quite a bit everywhere you go. Because of the religious differences of the people in Dubai and the harsher penalties for crimes this probably causes their society to be kinder as a whole. Some countries I have been in have had pretty rude people while others have been full of really kind and generous people. It changes where you go. I don't think the penalties for crimes should be made harsher, I think that would just cause an uproar and Americans would call it infringement on our constitutional rights.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Ireland with my best friend I noticed that everyone worked together as a community instead of as a private "family" style. We visited a small town and the community would have these weekly neighborhood feasts and everyone would pitch in. I found that everyone in the town seemed like one huge family where no one was a stranger to each other. It was like being at a family reunion with people that live near you. Coming back home I realized that I hardly know everyone in my home town but hopefully it will change.
ReplyDeleteI have traveled to both Europe and South America, and let me tell you, there is a huge difference the amount of kindness. Europe sort-of reminded me of the U.S, but once you get to rural areas everyone is inviting and friendly. In south america, a complete stranger could help you out and not even think twice about it. I think that is one thing the U.S. is lacking, acceptance towards others.
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