Comment 39143

By schmadrian (registered) | Posted March 26, 2010 at 10:11:49

"We need to pay a little more attention to our immediate neighbours, and help them in practical ways."

Great comment, Michelle. The problem is that while there are more means of communication than ever before and more awareness of the world-at-large (and the same technology that makes this awareness possible also facilitates assistance endeavours when calamity strikes), the basic truth is that people are more isolated, more protective of their worlds, their lives. They've ordered things in the opposite direction from 'community'. I don't want to use the word 'selfish'; maybe 'self-referential' is more apt. And with economic realities being what they are, people are less and less inclined to look outward; they're worried about protecting their own, about survival.

And then of course, there's the whole 'Us' and 'Them' mentality, which isn't exactly anything new.

It's easy to be pessimistic about community, about engagement, about contact...but sometimes meeting someone on a hiking trail and exchanging greetings can serve to remind us of our humanity.

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