A few days ago, Kevin "aka The Homeless Guy" at had an article about people making choices to treat others kindly, and I thought it was very interesting. I commented to his article, but thought I would further elaborate on my thoughts here today.

My original post to Kevin:

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Kevin:

Very nice article. I would say the idea of "not creating adversity" for others is one of the key aspects we, as a complex animal do to maintain any framework of a society. And that is a key point.... society. One of the things that seperates us somewhat from other animal species is the DEGREE to which we interdepend upon each other and how intrenched our SOCIETY is for us in terms of day-to-day survival.

Part of the problem I see now (and for perhaps the last 30 years or so)is this switch in the typical adult's mindset..... for most, life has become ME, ME, ME oriented as Quail said above.... the ideas of and promotion of community support and sponsorship are sorely lacking in our current society. Today, instead of the average person donating to a civic group or community playhouse, or museum, most folks say... "I need all my money, let the rich folk or the rich corporations pay for it all." Unfortunately I think this mindset if left unchecked will be the real reason we may have a total collapse of our society in the future.... people are losing the sense of community.

I feel this is one of several reasons for the rise in homelessness in the last 30 years as well. Now, do not get me wrong... most areas still *do* have some community spirit and ties.... but it seems many times it is only during periods of "crisis" that the community spirit is active. I think this ME, ME, ME mentality is a direct result of the suburbanization of America that occurred in the 50s and 60s. Suburbs were designed to distant people from eachother..... (they were needed due to the housing crunch for the families of the WWII veterans, but they could have been designed in a manner to foster greater community involvement instead of isloation).... and hence the Me, Me, Me mindset is very common for the children reared in that environment.

It is sad, for in many ways each of us is far more alone than we would have been if we lived in the same region only 60 years ago. The isolation is self-imposed but is due to how most of us were brought up.

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Now, in a nutshell, what does this suggest to me? Well, I feel the suburbanization of America did not in itself cause the decline of most metropolitan areas, but I feel that the ME, ME, ME attitude that became so strong through living in the suburbs DID cause the decline of most metropolitan areas. It is sad, and enormously damaging to the fabric of our society.

In hindsight, what do I think should have been done? Well, many people suggest the building of the suburbs was a bad, horrible, nasty thing. I disagree... I think the returning veterans and their new families NEEDED new housing for the dramatic rise in the population at that time. What I wish, however, is that the suburbs would have been developed in such a way so as they would have fully integrated with the existing urban areas they surround, and that the suburbs would have been built with a mindset that strove to develop and broaden the sense of community.

My pipe is cold now, the tobacco been spent. I think I will leave my writings as is for now, and get ready for class.