Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Neighbors...close and far away......

I have a close friend we call Popcorn, who wrote this essay and I wanted to share it with you...it rings very true...Leave a comment and tell me waht you think about today's society and how we treat everyone from those close to us to those we have never met....

Essay: "Neighbors"


Neighbors. What do most of us know about neighbors or care for them? For the most part, nothing. Most people nowadays don't know their neighbor nor do they care to know them. Why? I don't know why. I mostly believe it's due to being from a "me-me" society; a society and culture that cares for no one or nothing but themselves.

Neighbors at one point in time used to be like extended family. That has changed. Most people don't even care about their own family, let alone some people who live next to them. "Why should I care for them, I don't know them," they think. Truly, why should they?

Why? Simply because without care for others then there is no true care for one self. "How?" You ask. Well, look at it. Without true 'neighborly behavior' society falls apart. Even if stuff happens on such a small scale as neighbors not getting along, it turns to big scale problems. Society is based on the well being of its members, the interaction of its members. Anyone who is even slightly familiar with sociology will point this out to you, but do you ask? No, of course not. You're too busy buying clothes or throwing away your slightly used shoes just because 'they are a year old'. You're too worried about yourself to worry about others.

I guess I sound very socialistic (which I'm absolutely not), because some of their arguments ring true. What is the well being of the individual, when the whole is decaying? Why should people care if everything is going to shit? Well, because one person can make a difference. If one person tries to reach out to their neighbors for selfless reasons, then that one becomes however many they reach out to.

A good society is not based on the well being of the economy or government body, but the well being of the people. Not the individual, but the whole. If everyone would take a true interest in others, then we would be a healthier society.

2 comments:

Andrea Reynolds said...

I was thinking about this before I read your post this morning with your friend's essay. I was thinking that many people at this time of year are willing to make a donation to a charity which benefits nameless, faceless strangers but when it comes to a neighbor, co-worker, or friend who is suffering from financial difficulty those same people turn their backs. It's as if they believe poverty is contagious if they come near, or worse, blame their neighbor for their circumstances. I'll be posting a quiz on my blog later about kindness toward those in need.

Lobo V said...

My neighbors are an extended family
they all know that if they ever need help of any kind that they can count on me. It was'nt always like this tho when I first moved into the neighborhood people keept to them selves.All it takes is to be nice.