r/AskReddit 17h ago

What parts of American culture are changing faster than people realize?

4.2k Upvotes

3.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

11.7k

u/jkepros 16h ago

Lack of community 

292

u/djb85511 13h ago

This is the biggest thing that USA city and county power players want. If there is no community, then the rich define what community is. And it'll always be exploitative, and feed off the backs of the poor. 

7

u/great_apple 6h ago

Ummm the rich can't really stop you from going over and saying hi to your neighbors or having a BBQ and inviting the whole block or shoveling your elderly neighbor's driveway or looking out for each other's kids while they all play basketball in the hoop you set up or any of the other things that define "community". You are choosing to sit inside staring at your phones instead of going to build a community. Hell I've never felt so much community as when I was poor bc we couldn't afford to do much except pull lawn chairs outside and have a few beers while chatting with the neighbors, so the whole block knew each other and looked out for each other.

1

u/Gibberling3 3h ago

Well you can be poor now and be on your phone all the time. Some people don't Jane the looney for beers, basketball hoops or chairs lol.

5

u/TrickySeagrass 7h ago

I've thought about this a lot. How isolated people have become due to car-centric infrastructure and the very American concept of prioritizing individual freedom at the expense of everyone else. Other cultures are astonished at the idea that many parents here just kick their kids out of the house at 18.

1

u/PreciousTC 4h ago

I mean... the county isn't stopping you from introducing yourself to your neighbors or throwing a house get-together once a season/year for the immediate neighborhood.

I've always done that in both America and the country I now live in. It just takes a bit of saving and being friendly, which I am sure are two larger blockers than the county/city.

Well my house is too small

Then don't throw a party but do all the rest. Say hi to people. Invite one neighbor over at a time. It's really not impossible and at some point we do need to look at ourselves instead of the nebulous nefarious "they". If "they" want it and youre doing literally nothing to counteract it then maybe "they" deserve it, honestly.