” Back in the Day”, many lived in neighborhoods with two unique features:
• homes (not houses) front porches which faced the street
• Sidewalks – concrete strips in front of the front porch whereon people walked
( you do remember walking don’t you)
Oh yes, garages were detached – alongside the house or in the back of a yard and intersected with
an alley.
Then came progress: the porches – which provided a gathering place for inquisitive and nosey neighbors – were reengineered and constructed at the back of the home –privacy of course being the prime consideration
• Sidewalks were eliminated – in its place the green verandas extended to street side:
The consequence- walking and talking in the neighborhood were essentially eliminated.
Then came the invention of the garage door opener : push a button and drive into your attached garage. No chance of chatting with your neighbor, talking about your day, or inquiring about each others children. Power into the garage – up the stairs and into your cocoon.
The consequence – elimination of more neighbor to neighbor contact.
The beat goes on: in a specific cul de sac neighborhood there are approximately 20 homes: all with individual lots, attached garages, garage door openers and patio decks.
Summer arrives: grass grows and obviously needs attention: The air on Saturday and Sunday mornings resonates with the sound of 20 Power Mowers, 20 weed wackers, 20 leaf blowers. You do the math – one of each for each household.
Yesterday , father snow visited. 6 inches of wet, heavy snow. The ages of home owners ranges from about 30 to 70. A single woman divorcee: several people with physical limitations: sales people on the road across the U S: a typical suburban demographic. Guess how many snow blowers for 20 houses – 20. Heads down, snow swirling, 20 individuals blowing snow but careful to avoid encroaching on their neighbor’s property.
What have we created?… in 2 generations a communal society has morphed into a highly individualistic, independent “group” ( groups defined as a noncohesive , nondependent gathering of individuals.
This is not to pass judgment on the current state of society – merely a set of observations.
rlhassociates 