I was chatting with a friend about buying pizza by the slice. We both live in small communities and they're aren't any places that do this. We both agreed in order to make that practical you would have to have a good bit of foot traffic. That explained it for me anyway. That explanation led me to my next thought and that thought was community.
The word community. We use it all the time. We say we live in a community. We belong to the community. I looked up the word commune. It means, living together,sharing property and responsibility. Then I looked up unity. Unity, the state of being one or in harmony. Well I don't know about where you live, but I think community is a bit of a misnomer for Greensboro. At least by the strict definition it is. We all live here alright, but I'm not to sure about sharing property or sharing responsibilities. And I would say our unity needs a little work.
In all fairness I would say this applies to an awful lot of small towns here in America. The reason for this is the rise of the big corporations. The little Mom and Pop stores that were the heart of small town America have ,for the most part, all been killed off. Walmart and the like did them in. The downtown's are getting pretty bare. And with that the foot traffic is getting thin as well. The drop in foot traffic results in fewer people meeting with one another and interacting. Sure you see a lot of people at the Walmart but where do they come from ? I don't know. Maybe they live three doors down from me or maybe in a different town. You are a lot less likely to speak to one another in that setting. Passing one another on the street where you live is altogether more conducive to conversation. We sometimes attend community events like carnivals or fairs but even then you cannot be sure, and most times you are just concerned with your own entertainment.
I often talk about the old hometown. I have often thought of it as the place I miss. I'm thinking now it is not the place I miss, but the community. We all knew each other and exchanged cordial greetings. Even when we didn't exactly know the other person, we often knew their parents or what business they owned. We knew the Police officers and they knew us. We lived together, helping one another without question. We acted as one and pretty much thought as one. A strong sense of community existed. That, I think, is what is being sacrificed for those low,low prices and convenient one stop shopping. Some call it progress. Some small towns are lucky to become tourist attractions or popular with the" in" crowd. Then the downtown areas are alive and well, just in a different way. They become "towns "much like the attractions in Disney World. Welcome to " unreal " world where the prices are high and everyday is a vacation. There are those that work behind the scenes and are never seen or heard from and that is there place. They are there only to serve and entertain. Yet, they get to live there. The buildings are often saved and the town kept alive. The only thing missing is " community ".
I find it ironic that the more we progress the smaller we become. Our "communities" are becoming smaller. We retreat into our homes and gated " communities ".We are separated by money and class. We distance ourselves from each other. To be " friendly " draws suspicion. Shopping and entertainment are done away from home. No downtown movie theaters or little shops to visit. No longer do we walk the street in the early evening. Now it is rush to wherever you are going, watch your back and get it done. Hurry home, lock your doors and set the alarm.
All this is old news. We all have known this for a while now. If you are lucky enough to live in the town that is being " saved " by tourism, the best you can hope for it that you can run one of the attractions or secure a maintenance position. For those that are not, all you can do is watch as the town dies. The town eventually just goes away and all that is left is memories and houses. And memory fades.
The revitalization of our downtowns is a dream. It is like trying to capture the past. Those days are gone and will not return. No amount of money or preservation can accomplish this. It is the intangible that makes a community. Self sacrifice is required. Living together and sharing property and responsibility. Acting as one.
The word community. We use it all the time. We say we live in a community. We belong to the community. I looked up the word commune. It means, living together,sharing property and responsibility. Then I looked up unity. Unity, the state of being one or in harmony. Well I don't know about where you live, but I think community is a bit of a misnomer for Greensboro. At least by the strict definition it is. We all live here alright, but I'm not to sure about sharing property or sharing responsibilities. And I would say our unity needs a little work.
In all fairness I would say this applies to an awful lot of small towns here in America. The reason for this is the rise of the big corporations. The little Mom and Pop stores that were the heart of small town America have ,for the most part, all been killed off. Walmart and the like did them in. The downtown's are getting pretty bare. And with that the foot traffic is getting thin as well. The drop in foot traffic results in fewer people meeting with one another and interacting. Sure you see a lot of people at the Walmart but where do they come from ? I don't know. Maybe they live three doors down from me or maybe in a different town. You are a lot less likely to speak to one another in that setting. Passing one another on the street where you live is altogether more conducive to conversation. We sometimes attend community events like carnivals or fairs but even then you cannot be sure, and most times you are just concerned with your own entertainment.
I often talk about the old hometown. I have often thought of it as the place I miss. I'm thinking now it is not the place I miss, but the community. We all knew each other and exchanged cordial greetings. Even when we didn't exactly know the other person, we often knew their parents or what business they owned. We knew the Police officers and they knew us. We lived together, helping one another without question. We acted as one and pretty much thought as one. A strong sense of community existed. That, I think, is what is being sacrificed for those low,low prices and convenient one stop shopping. Some call it progress. Some small towns are lucky to become tourist attractions or popular with the" in" crowd. Then the downtown areas are alive and well, just in a different way. They become "towns "much like the attractions in Disney World. Welcome to " unreal " world where the prices are high and everyday is a vacation. There are those that work behind the scenes and are never seen or heard from and that is there place. They are there only to serve and entertain. Yet, they get to live there. The buildings are often saved and the town kept alive. The only thing missing is " community ".
I find it ironic that the more we progress the smaller we become. Our "communities" are becoming smaller. We retreat into our homes and gated " communities ".We are separated by money and class. We distance ourselves from each other. To be " friendly " draws suspicion. Shopping and entertainment are done away from home. No downtown movie theaters or little shops to visit. No longer do we walk the street in the early evening. Now it is rush to wherever you are going, watch your back and get it done. Hurry home, lock your doors and set the alarm.
All this is old news. We all have known this for a while now. If you are lucky enough to live in the town that is being " saved " by tourism, the best you can hope for it that you can run one of the attractions or secure a maintenance position. For those that are not, all you can do is watch as the town dies. The town eventually just goes away and all that is left is memories and houses. And memory fades.
The revitalization of our downtowns is a dream. It is like trying to capture the past. Those days are gone and will not return. No amount of money or preservation can accomplish this. It is the intangible that makes a community. Self sacrifice is required. Living together and sharing property and responsibility. Acting as one.
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