Historically, there have been many types of societies: Hunter-Gatherer, Agricultural, Industrial or Civilizations (societies with complex government). Which would you rather live in: a village with little to no technology, a small farming town, or an industrialized city? Why? Follow-up question: Does where a society exists change the way in which its people interact?
Monday, December 15, 2008
Town and Country
Historically, there have been many types of societies: Hunter-Gatherer, Agricultural, Industrial or Civilizations (societies with complex government). Which would you rather live in: a village with little to no technology, a small farming town, or an industrialized city? Why? Follow-up question: Does where a society exists change the way in which its people interact?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Although I like where I live now, I feel there is something almost enticing about living in a farming town. In the city there are so many people living there, and out on the streets there is interactions on many different levels with different people everday. There are people packed on the streets of a city like New York with pushing and rushing, and people have come to terms with that kind of behavior as the norm. Because of the different setting people give off a different vibe than people would in a small town. The people in NYC may not actually be snobby but a lot of times on the street with all of the hustle and bustle that is how people are generally perceived.
I would rather live in a place where there is more interaction with people. A town where everyone knows everyone is a theme in many movies, and I have always wondered what that would be like. My friend who lives in New Hampshire lives in a town like this, and everyone knows everyone in her High School. In our high school, everday I see someone I've never seen before in my life, which is kind of sad to me.
For me, I think I would like to live in a place that is a mix between a small farming town and an industrialized city. I would like the quiet calm of a farming community and a little bit of the technology of a city. I wouldn't wholly like one or the other. Too much technology takes out the uniqueness of life, and too little would make life too inconvient, at least for me. I also think that where a society exists does affect the way people interact. Literally, if a city is located underwater, for instance, it will be hard for people to communicate. If another city is located in the North Pole, people will have to find ways to communicate.
I think for me it would be between a small village or farming town. Maybe a combination so I could have running water in my small village. That's a big one for me. But other than that, I think it might be a bit refreshing to live without the internet and television, although I'd probably go crazy during football season. I like EB, but not enough to live here. It's almost like an industrialized city here, because no one really interacts like they might in a small town. Sure, there are some good neighbors around here, but most of the time, it feels like we just ignore each other and live our own separate lives. The same thing happens in an industrialized city where you pass people on the street without seeing them and live in smog-filled apartment housing on the 25th floor or whatever. In a small farming town or a small village, people interact in a more neighborly fashion. Everyone knows everyone else and is always willing to help out, etc. I definitely think the way a society lives influences their interactions. It almost seems like the closer to live to someone the less close you are emotionally. In cities people live on top of each other and yet barely know each other. In a farming town, everyone lives acres away, but they are emotionally close and usually exhibit a tight-knit community.
I also would want to live in a farming town, or any simple, less-industrialized town. I think it would be a pretty cool experience. Im sure people living in those kind of societies are more family oriented, and are also hard working. In our society, everyone is lazy and we depend on all these technologies that I believe are ultimately harmful. A simple life in a farm town would give me true discipline, and I will be able to learn what really are necessities in life versus what are luxuries. Living without cell phones, the internet, etc really can't be that bad, we just think it would be because our society today is so hooked on it. I mean, i spent 3 weeks last summer in the middle of Utah with very limited phone, tv, and computer..and I didn't mind it at all.
I would definitely want to live in a industrial city. I find much comfort in being one in a crowd. I can't imagine living in a small farming town where every one knows my name and what I did last night whether good or bad. An industrial town gives you so many more opportunities to do different things. There are so many more jobs and sub groups of people to intertwine with. For example there is a college named "Wells College" in upstate New York that has been recruiting me, but the whole school is a little more than 800 people. That sounds terrible to me. Our graduating class is about that size. I couldn't imagine confining myself to that kind of environment. I would much rather attend a university where I'm just a number in a class room.
Where a society exists definitely changes the way in which the people interact. For example, we grew up here in the north. We were taught to talk very fast and get out your message quickly. Whereas in the south, they take their time when their talking. The elongate words, and just talk painfully SLOOOOOWWWW! So as a "yankee" vacationing in the south I find myself trying to finish their sentences for them to "help" them get their point across.
Interaction it self changes inside of each society. For example Staten Island has their own unique way of talking and words. Their society altered the English language to fit them better.
I'd rather live in a mixture of a small village with little to no technology because I believe that the simpler life can easily be enjoyed by everyone. There would be a very small difference between rich and poor if there were to be one. Education would be achived according to one's own interest and skill. Money wouldn't shape your life. All food and other items would be provided by farming. Also, humans as a whole could get in touch with their spiritual self, which many of us lack knowledge of. Then, we would be able to unlock and discover owr own hidden potential. This would also allow us to appreciate life more and aim for complete peace and happiness. Every thing we need is actually supplied by the divine source through mother earth and we are given simple rules to follow and live by. It is us and our societies who make it complicated for ourselves when we made the dollar, an article and coupon of trade, mighty over ourselves. In a village, life is simple. All your neccessities would generally be supplied by either what the farm has brought in, or by what is in the environment or habitat. Entertainment wouldn't be a market. Just who ever feels they can perfom for the people would get their chance to excite the crowd. Also, where a society exists would change the way the people interact, but it would not interrupt the basic and fundamentals of the natural way of living.
Post a Comment