I used to see many people socializing outside: adults and kids. Now, 4 decades later I only see kids under 12 hang outside. I noticed people from Europe coming here expressing surprise of streets empty of pedestrians.
At the same time, I witnessed less places and businesses where people can be together, less attendance at both bars, school sports and churches - and the decline of local politics, grassroots and community activism.
I can’t help but think all these are related to what you say here
Civil society in the US is in a dire state. This is by design. The capitalists and their puppet politicians don’t want us having social connections outside work. We might start having ideas.
Get out, go for walks, go to cafes, talk to random strangers. It’s absolutely critical to mental health and it breaks that cycle of isolation.
Source: I live in a small city in England, and I feel far more connected than I did in US cities, despite the notorious reserve of the English. (Hint: they’re more talkative after a few pints).
The technology revolution hit the USA harder than many places because not only did most of the population change careers, but were able to be scattered more . There were more bonds of neighborhood and family broken, than most other countries.
It certainly was an additional burden for many in the USA, and is probably the main reason the murder rate is higher than in the UK due the extra fractures of family and friendship structure over the decades
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. Community has been on a slow decline in America since 1965. The combination of an increasingly isolated population and a 24-hour propaganda news cycle aimed to pit you against your neighbor has been a wild success.
I used to see many people socializing outside: adults and kids. Now, 4 decades later I only see kids under 12 hang outside. I noticed people from Europe coming here expressing surprise of streets empty of pedestrians.
At the same time, I witnessed less places and businesses where people can be together, less attendance at both bars, school sports and churches - and the decline of local politics, grassroots and community activism.
I can’t help but think all these are related to what you say here
Civil society in the US is in a dire state. This is by design. The capitalists and their puppet politicians don’t want us having social connections outside work. We might start having ideas.
Get out, go for walks, go to cafes, talk to random strangers. It’s absolutely critical to mental health and it breaks that cycle of isolation.
Source: I live in a small city in England, and I feel far more connected than I did in US cities, despite the notorious reserve of the English. (Hint: they’re more talkative after a few pints).
The technology revolution hit the USA harder than many places because not only did most of the population change careers, but were able to be scattered more . There were more bonds of neighborhood and family broken, than most other countries.
It certainly was an additional burden for many in the USA, and is probably the main reason the murder rate is higher than in the UK due the extra fractures of family and friendship structure over the decades
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. Community has been on a slow decline in America since 1965. The combination of an increasingly isolated population and a 24-hour propaganda news cycle aimed to pit you against your neighbor has been a wild success.
Also fighting for survival with multiple jobs pretty much kills the inventive for anything social on your rare free time