Reading my classmate Robyn Eakle's PM565 week three blog (http://robyneaklesblog.blogspot.com/), I was caught by a certain passage she wrote concerning what her yoga instructor said:
"Isn't it hilarious to think about the fact that most of the time we are all walking around with this protective armour on and so concerned about keeping it together, that we don't realize that we are all doing that same thing. What would happen if we tried the opposite, and cracked that shell open, realized that we all are coming from different experiences and often the same feelings. What would happen if we were all open to one another?"
I was inclined to comment
Understandably… increasing frequency of interpersonal contact and exposure to individuals from different communities fosters the spread of diseases. In addition to diseases, strangers may wield weapons, and ill intent. I’m not arguing that personal protection from harm and disease is the primary reason why people hide in their shells when in public. Indeed, many people would claim that they’re busy (and would rather listen to their IPod or read the newspaper) or question the benefits of chatting to strangers.
Rather, I’m merely pointing out a trend - that the fear of epidemics and bioterrism harbors a sense of suspicion and protection from those around you that are strangers. I believe the impersonal nature of public transportation and locations will only become more impersonal as time goes on. As an example, students at the
6 comments:
David,
First off, thanks for your comment on my blog. I am, apparently like your sister, an animal enthusiast thus I would also argue that animals should receive great care. I once seriously contemplated being a vet.
In regards to your blog, great entry. Though I also might add that communication and gaining insight to the thinking of other people and communities is what leads to the control and solution of epidemics/ public health concerns. I think a good analogy to what I'm trying to get across would be cars. For example, I drive a Toyota Matrix. It was bought and sold in CA, assembled in the US, parts for it were made from all over the world (i.e. Mexico and Asia), the design came from people in Japan, who were influenced in part by some of the ideas from European cars. Therefore, in order to have a good system, in anything, it would be best to draw from a myriad of places and ideas. And we in part have that in organizations like WHO.
Anyways, what do you think? I guess we are kinda arguing the same point. I saw you were involved with Invisible Children. Amazing film.
david,
i enjoy reading your thoughts and comments that you leave on your classmates' blogs. there is something about your writing style and how you express your ideas and thoughts that is very mind provoking to me personally. looking forwards to reading your thoughts as the class progresses.
Hey David! That's cool that you used my quote and expanded. And you are right. Bio-terrorism and disease paranoia have lead to lots more personal barriers, but it's even simpler than that. Here in LA/CA everyone drives, we are completely removed from each other for hours at a time, much like Crash demonstrated (which the quote from my yoga instructor reminded me of in the first place and I forgot to mention that on my blog - oh well). But in other cities we people do walk, they often have devices like Ipods to avoid having to interact with others. I know in some cities in Europe, you can not walk around as a woman by yourself without some sort of physcial barrier or you will be harassed. So there are cultural miscommunications as well that get in the way. Now I am rambling, but I think this all goes back to empathy and taking some time in life to really see what is going on around you.
Thanks for commenting on my blog. My quote from the bible was not meant to polarize, but rather to emphasize a point in the way we view the world around us.
There's also the social isolation and breakdown of social networks that comes from advances in technology. More and more people seem to retrieve into their homes and spend more time on the web than they do with their friends and family. So while there's this great exchange of information and thought across the globe, it is often to the detriment to our social networks, which is really unfortunate as these networks serve as coping mechanisms for us.
hey david, another interesting trend in terms of interpersonal contact is all the different modes of communication we have...IM, email, text messaging, phone calls, skype. but like emma suggested, there's no substitute for face-to-face human contact. that's what brings us out of our shells and, i think, constitutes a real non-superficial connection.
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