Over the years I have had the opportunity to experience different types of communities. From low income to high income neighborhoods, I have seen the pros and cons of each. As we embark on this journey, an understanding of our society will emerge and new knowledge will be gained.
To begin our journey I will elaborate on my childhood. I was born in St. George Utah in 1989. I realize that this may make you skeptical about my experience. Let me reassure you that my lack of years is not a hindrance to my experience and not one experience has failed to teach me valuable lessons about out society. In many cases my experience has allowed me to understand the experiences of the older generations.
As I grew up in the home of a Army Colonel I experienced the military community at its finest. In this community people were sincere and formal. I learned respect for all those around me and how to comport myself with dignity and honor. As I grew into late adolescence, my father retired and we purchased a small farm in Hurricane Utah. In this community I made many good friends, including my best friend to this day. I learned that hard work and discipline get the job done. In this community, I can say that my family, including my three younger siblings, had really found a home. In this community we lived and felt like a big extended family. On Sunday afternoon as I spent time with my friends I could have as much as 3 extra dinners because of invitations to stay to eat.
As a junior in Hurricane High School, I received my first taste of a different type of community. I was hired on as a counter-top fabricator. The people that I worked with were a little rough around the edges. many were heavy smokers and drinkers. When Monday morning rolled around, the hot topic of discussion was who got the most wasted at the biggest parties. Coming from a military back ground, I was force to practice tolerance and patience in order work with these men who had different standards than I did.
After High school graduation I lived in Italy and traveled a great deal around Europe. Countries like Spain, France and Italy left me with an appreciation for architecture, while Germany left me with a better understanding of how citizens should respect their assets.
Looking again at the United States I have come to understand the role that schools play in the community. From middle income communities where sports are well funded and encouraged to low income communities where parents are fighting to get their children into the best school possible, I have learned that education makes communities what they are. Take for example the community of St. George, we have good public school system and a University. Because of the good teachers that are around us, our communities tend to be strong and the economy quite stable. If we look at communities that are lower on the social economical status, they tend to have more apathetic teachers who are indifferent about student success.
As we evaluate our communities, I believe we can find ways to improve our soundings. If citizens will work together for a common purpose, unity will commence to revolutionize the modern community and we will radiate into a thriving people!
Andrew brings up both the military as a form of community and the interesting problem that occurs when a person travels back-and-forth between communities with widely varying standards of decorum. What do others in the class think of manners and decorum as definers of community cohesion?
ReplyDeleteHello I'm Ernst and yes, the military has its own communities, stateside as well as overseas. Most members of the armed forces and their dependents stationed overseas confine themselves to their community, consisting of commissary, PX, various fast-foods, officers' club, NCO club, base activities... Only a view are brave enough to escape the "safety" or monotony of their American way of life and explore their host country and its people. I too have worked a U.S. government agency and have lived in seven different countries. I lived on the local economy and my community was wherever I chose it to be. I love communities and the more diverse they are, the more I enjoy myself within them.
ReplyDeleteI think a good example of at least decorum is how one is expected to follow rules in a neighborhood, particularly one with written homeowners association expectations. Good manners are the behaviors that lead to more culture and civility.
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