Are America's Communities Disappearing?
2021-04-09
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1"Won't you be my neighbor?" is a famous song from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a popular children's television show.
2The show, broadcast for 31 years ending in 2001, sought to teach American children the importance of kindness and understanding towards others.
3The idea was that strong communities need strong relationships between the people in them.
4But fewer and fewer Americans seem to know their neighbors and that may be eroding America's communities.
5Marc Dunkelman wrote a book called "The Vanishing Neighbor."
6In it, he examined how American communities have changed over time.
7Dunkelman said most Americans have three levels of relationships:
8The inner circle includes family and close friends.
9The middle circle is more casual relationships.
10People in this circle include neighbors and people in community groups.
11The outer circle includes people who live far away but share a common interest.
12Today, people in outer circles are easily found through social media and other forms of technology.
13In his book, Dunkelman argued that people spend most of their time and attention on the inner and outer circles.
14But, he said the middle-circle is necessary to strengthening local communities.
15Relationships with neighbors are important for debate, hearing different ideas and finding compromise.
16Brad Birzer is a professor of history at Hillsdale College in Michigan.
17He said Americans are now more connected with national communities than with local communities.
18"We used to think of the community good as a local thing, and now we tend to think of it as the whole country," he said.
19Americans used to have more middle-circle relationships.
20Face-to-face interaction was unavoidable without cell phones or the internet.
21People also felt more of an obligation to join community organizations.
22Dunkelman argues that modern life has made middle-circle relationships less important.
23He said globalization, education and more women in the workforce have resulted in fewer middle-circle interactions.
24He said the weakening of communities has led to political divisions in America.
25Americans now have less interaction with others who hold different political opinions.
26Less interaction with people who voted for the opposite party means "you begin to really be alienated from people who voted for the other side," Dunkelman said.
27There are some good results from this change in personal interaction, however.
28It has become harder for hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan to organize at the local level.
29Doctors and health experts all over the world have been able to collaborate to deal with the coronavirus health crisis.
30However, Americans may be losing what it means to be a good neighbor, as Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" taught.
31Today, society's problems like homelessness or poverty are not seen as local problems to solve, but national problems.
32Doing good for a neighbor is healthy "not just for our neighbor, but for ourselves as well," Dunkelman said.
33Learning how to be a good citizen can be lost, he said, "when we defer the problem to somebody else."
34I'm Caty Weaver.
1"Won't you be my neighbor?" is a famous song from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, a popular children's television show. 2The show, broadcast for 31 years ending in 2001, sought to teach American children the importance of kindness and understanding towards others. The idea was that strong communities need strong relationships between the people in them. 3But fewer and fewer Americans seem to know their neighbors and that may be eroding America's communities. 4Marc Dunkelman wrote a book called "The Vanishing Neighbor." In it, he examined how American communities have changed over time. 5Dunkelman said most Americans have three levels of relationships: The inner circle includes family and close friends. The middle circle is more casual relationships. People in this circle include neighbors and people in community groups. The outer circle includes people who live far away but share a common interest. Today, people in outer circles are easily found through social media and other forms of technology. 6In his book, Dunkelman argued that people spend most of their time and attention on the inner and outer circles. But, he said the middle-circle is necessary to strengthening local communities. Relationships with neighbors are important for debate, hearing different ideas and finding compromise. 7Brad Birzer is a professor of history at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He said Americans are now more connected with national communities than with local communities. 8"We used to think of the community good as a local thing, and now we tend to think of it as the whole country," he said. 9Americans used to have more middle-circle relationships. Face-to-face interaction was unavoidable without cell phones or the internet. People also felt more of an obligation to join community organizations. 10Dunkelman argues that modern life has made middle-circle relationships less important. He said globalization, education and more women in the workforce have resulted in fewer middle-circle interactions. He said the weakening of communities has led to political divisions in America. 11Americans now have less interaction with others who hold different political opinions. Less interaction with people who voted for the opposite party means "you begin to really be alienated from people who voted for the other side," Dunkelman said. 12There are some good results from this change in personal interaction, however. It has become harder for hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan to organize at the local level. Doctors and health experts all over the world have been able to collaborate to deal with the coronavirus health crisis. 13However, Americans may be losing what it means to be a good neighbor, as Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" taught. 14Today, society's problems like homelessness or poverty are not seen as local problems to solve, but national problems. 15Doing good for a neighbor is healthy "not just for our neighbor, but for ourselves as well," Dunkelman said. Learning how to be a good citizen can be lost, he said, "when we defer the problem to somebody else." 16I'm Caty Weaver. 17Dora Mekouar reported this story for Voice of America. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. 18________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20erode- v. to gradually destroy 21casual- adj. not formal; having some interest but not a lot ; not serious 22unavoidable- n. not able to be prevented or avoided 23obligation- n. something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise, etc 24division- n. a situation in which different groups, countries, etc., have different opinions, beliefs, or ways of life that separate them from each other 25alienate- v. - to cause (someone) to feel that she or he no longer belongs in a particular group, society, etc. 26defer -v. to permit someone else to decide or choose something