How should our neighbourhood get together?
How should our neighbourhood get together? Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection. It was once seen as the bastion of hope for all peoples during slavery and up to 1958. Today with rising crimes, COVID, limited to no financial opportunities for the many who are more entrepreneurially driven; the hustle and bustle of Philly life is becoming untrue to its filial roots and strong social and community activism at the community level. Communities except for few Sunday worshippers or smaller gatherings of religious groups in their factions are more separate and apart with only smaller organisations that benefit from government funding. But where is the camaraderie and strong community and neighbourhood support programs and groups. People move in and out of communities incognito for everyone is about their own business so as to maximise individual satisfaction appealing to what Sigmund calls the “Id”. We are a Cosmetic society, driven by fear and COVID. These have numb our creative capabilities and juices to engender this “#Philadelphia”.
So, I would suggest doing zoom events at the community levels and in the future after covid re-examine neighbourhood groups and events that strengthen this brotherhood and sisterhood and this is facilitated by having more events that bring out the family. Book festivals and signings are a great new way where we could include other talents, arts and music,food and new writers and engage in discussions, wrap sessions and debates. Location is important and some of these events should bridge all groups. A strong neighbourhood group knows it’s members, and is aware of the resources available to it and can work together to provide support and to access support for all its members. Neighbourhood Associations in the past had this feature but many have disappeared or are defunct and if exist is within a gated community or few wealthy suburban communities. Neighbourhood Associations had local regional and national connections that made it a powerful voice in advocating for its members and their communities. These Associations weren’t political and consisted of people within communities who share their neighbours and their neighbourhood concerns. As such people from all religious and political or neutral leanings in life are included.
This neighbourhood and community camaraderie that transcends the local to the global and national, breeds a greater sense of connection between and among us so that we can continue to live out the constitution demonstrating that we are all equal under God as should be treated fairly and act responsibly and as if we are of the same blood and family which is the essence of the constitution.
To clarify, you’re asking how society can come together, in the new normal way of life, without losing the solidarity of togetherness.
ReplyDeleteThese times definitely cater to psychological withdrawal. Are you familiar with John B Calhoun’s rat utopian study? If you’re interested in how cities are affected by overcrowding, even during quarantine, Calhoun can spell it out for us quite clearly. We already see the increase in both violence and depression.
In efforts to not be so morose about the fate of man, I’d say that exposure is key when it comes to conquering the fears of the unknown. I genuinely believe that racism could be cured by physically looking into the eyes of the person who, let’s be honest, scares you. Yes, even little babies scare people with their lack or abundance of melanin. It IS silly.
I disagree that telecoms are socialization. They are intangible, like most things in life. Do you feel connected to the faces on a magazine cover or to an actor? Not so much because they’re inanimate to us. In that sense, every online celebrity is not a real person, but an image to try to emulate. We barely know real people anymore.
I think the best, and honestly only, way to reintegrate as a society is to physically do it. We need to conquer the fear of whatever it is we don’t know, whatever scares us, because fear is a liar and that’s all it is - fear.