Middle Class Morality and the Distrust of Cities
Rarely do we find public discussions of a well documented sociological tendency:
The non urban middle and working class distrust of big cities. To those of us that leave our place of birth for a more urban environment, this reality may have never come to our attention, however, the vast majority of people really do die within a few miles of where they were born. One of the primary motivating factors behind this phenomenon is distrust/fear of cities.
In the United States we have many "cities" that should not be considered, as they are really glorified towns in underpopulated states who wish to pretend they are as progressive or intellectually important as other urban environments. The cities to think of to make things easy are coastal and port cities. New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are the best examples for my coming argument.
While it is likely that many factors contribute to this fear of cities, I contend that the key element is this: Cities should be feared for they are basically concentrated power centers.
Economics - Aside from the obvious wealth the cities produce, almost every economic consideration in an industrialized economy is based on cities whims or locations. From roadways to jobs to actual physical wealth, any city in the world, if properly motivated, could destroy any non city with relative ease (and it has happened and still happens).
Money and power are the same word.
Commodities - Though very few commodities come from cities, cities are where they all end up. For Americans, the tomato provides a fine example. A few years ago many of us will remember there was a terrible tomato shortage. During the crisis, not a single urban fast food restaurant ran out of tomatos, while many fast food franchises in communities which actually grew tomatos were tomatoless.
Other Resources or Services - Who here lives near a major bookstore (Borders, B&N or their likenesses) Leave an city or its outgrowth and those stores disappear. Same thing goes for electronics and anything else you can think of, including medicines and treatments. Denizens of cities are not only able to tap into more powerful communities, they are have access to far more resources, granting them additional power of non urbanites.
Acceptable Social Behaviors - I think it silly to say more than this concerning social development; everything from trends to fashions to etc emanates from urban environments with rare exceptions.
Intellectual beliefs - While many people, primarily academics, like to rationalize that intellectual thought and progress is centered in their hallowed halls, the stark truth is this is so only if those halls reside in an urban landscape. Almost every intellectual movement from ancient to modern history has been born in the minds or minds of urban denizens. Universities are simply where such leaps are labeled and endlessly analyzed. One is hard pressed to name an intellectual movement that was started at any learning center, ever and the few that do come to mind were almost always begun by outcasts of the current academic systems.
So what am I saying, I don't really know beyond this is something worth taking a look at, and whoever you imagine you are, if you ain't looking at skyscrapers every day, you ain't the hero, villain or sidekick of any story, just a periphery, and ultimately unnecessary player.
Happy 2008
Ty
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by The Man With No Name
.
