Here's something I have been pondering upon for a while and I want to throw it out there. Do any of you think that the reason for discontentment has to do with our loss of a sense of community? I'm not saying the past was rosy. Health wise, there were issues, but I remember when neighbours helped neighbours without being asked to. And old lady living alone? Well, folks would keep an eye out for her, shovel her driveway during the winter, and the like. So many of us now go home, lock our doors, and shut ourselves away from those who live just across the street from us. People turn away from each other rather than toward each other. I am not saying that this does not happen, just that this sense of community has faded and with it we have become disconnected from each other in oh so many ways. Sometimes I feel we would be better off if we built bridges rather than walls. Just a thought....
I actually put something up here like that last night, but I deleted it because it seemed political to me.
It all comes back to fear, power, and control. If they can instill fear of your neighbor, they gain power over you. Once they have that power, they gain control of your life.
I do kinda miss the small community I grew up in PA. We all had a sense of family there. I was a volunteer firefighter there. I had my right knee bent 90 degrees the wrong direction one night that caused me to be off work for nearly six months. My injury got around rather quickly and we woke up one morning to find our front porch filled with the necessities of life, food, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc.
I found another here. When I tore my left bicep of my forearm, the guys I work with opened up their wallets and took up a collection for me as we have done for others.
These communities still exist, but we tend to be called domestic terrorists because we are not reliant on someone else. The mining community tend to be independent and take care of our own. Not political in any way, just an observation back to fear, power, and control.
Ok, back to my charity gig. Building some Adirondacks for the local school scholarship auctions and having a few while I am doing it.
