neighborliness

Have you ever watched That 70s Show? If you know me very well, you probably know how much I love that show. It's definitely one of my very favorites! I enjoy the humor, and the simplicity of life back then. I think I would have gotten along well in the 70s.

That being said, I was having lunch with Jon today and we got to talking about Cuba and differences between our culture here in North America and cultures like Cuba. The particular aspect that we got talking about was actually far more common in North America in the 70s, 80s and earlier - too early for my time really. That is the social and neighborly aspect.

In Cuba, not everyone has a TV, it's a luxury. The neighbors will all come over to watch the few channels that they can even get. Same with phones. They'll talk to relatives living in Miami and the whole family will gather at the house and take turns talking to them. It's a much more social culture. Our culture used to be like that. You watch That 70s Show, and they had a bar in their livingroom because they would entertain the neighbors, friends, or whoever, fairly often.

You don't see that really nowadays. Sure, we have our close friends over, people we know from church, maybe work, or other fairly close acquaintances, but to actually invite the neighbors, that we hardly know, over to our house is almost unheard of! We hardly know who our neighbors even are!

This isn't quite as bad in small towns, like my home town, but even there it is becoming more rare. People tend to stick to themselves, their circle of friends, and are far less trusting, far less friendly, far less open. I would say that our society is becoming more and more cold and cynical - even to our fellow countrymen, our neighbors!

I certainly see this in myself. I am far quicker to judge people, to mis-trust them, to expect that they are out to get whatever they can from me, than to be trusting and open with them. Have I already started to become so jaded and cynical?

I am very glad to finally be beginning to get out and travel. Experiencing different cultures, societies, countries, world views, ways of life, and so on can only be good for a North American country girl! (or anyone else, for that matter!) I want very much to stretch my own world view, to get outside of my own opinions, mind sets, the things that have been ingrained in me from the day I was born. I don't want to be one of those people that just gets set in their ways, in their own beliefs and opinions, and can't manage to see it any other way, or live it any other way.

And this is my wish for you as well. My you continue to grow, learn, change, experience, explore, adventure, experiment, love, laugh, enjoy, and overall LIVE!