Where I Belong Is Where I Am At…I Think?

My family lives in a little cape cod near Cincinnati. We love it here…especially my wife, who has many friends and she loves our little neighborhood. I also enjoy it here but it’s going on 9 years and I have to be honest…I don’t know anybody. Well…that’s not necessarily true. I’ve made friends, of course. Our neighbors are all awesome. My wife has made friends with several families who have now become our friends and our kids all play together and they are great. But the reason I say I don’t know anybody is because I have only lived here 9 years. And I don’t go out. And I don’t really meet people. And when I do, I’m really not all that chatty. And most people who live here in our little town have lived here their entire lives.

The other night, my wife & I went out on a couples night. We went out with 2 other couples. One couple we’ve known for years. The other have quickly become 2 of our best friends. So we all went to a local restaurant and we aren’t in there for 30 seconds when people start to recognize our friends. First a brother came up, then an old high school friend, then a former co-worker, then another high school friend. And so it went…all night long.

Wanna know how many people knew me?

Zero.

And I’ve lived here 9 years.

Does this bother me? Not really. I don’t socialize the way my wife does. She knows people on the schoolboard. She knows parents & teachers and a few local politicians. I know the people on my street. Well…I know a FEW of the people on my street and a couple who live one street away. Other than that, I’m a little limited on my neighborly knowledge. So when I’m sitting in a restaurant and no one knows who I am, that’s fine by me. I know who my friends are and where they are. Facebook has seen to that. And I know that when I’m in Milwaukee this weekend I know several people there. And when I go to Seattle, I know people there. And when I go just about anywhere in the United States…I know people everywhere. When you travel and work in places all over, everywhere is your home. I’m limited here in my neighborhood, sure. But in the grand scheme of things, I’m not as unfriendly as I seem. As a matter of fact…I’m pretty damn popular by some standards.

So I don’t fret when I’m not noticed at the local grocery store. That’s fine, because in MY mind, I know where my friends are and that’s good enough for me. Well…except on a Friday night when I’m out with my wife & a few friends who know EVERYBODY. Then I wish that maybe I knew a few more of my neighbors. Maybe this summer I’ll try to work on that…

Globalization and Why I Don’t Know My Neighbors

Not wanting to sound pithy here, but I am really starting to wonder if globalization is such a good idea. I know that for about 30 years now, American government has been on this major kick of wanting to be the ambassadors of good will and bring the world closer to one another, but I don’t get it. Why? Why would I want to be closer to Thailand? Or why would someone from England want to be closer to me?

My wife and I have this conversation from time to time and I think it is a valid one…do we really have to be friends with everybody? Can’t we just have our social groups and the people that we want to be close to and live a happy life that way? Here is where this discussion comes from…I was reading about Myanmar this morning. It’s an incredible tragedy. Thousands have died because of a cyclone that tore through a region of that country. It’s a terrible story and you hate to hear about it. But the government there is not allowing a throng of people over to help take care of the disaster area. They are trying (or not trying) to cope with it and have sent the message that they don’t necessarily want a billion people flooding into their country to fix everything. I would say to our government here to respect their wishes.

I know this makes me sound horrible. How can I think about not supplying help to a third world country that has just been hit by a devastating disaster. But here is my argument.  THEIR GOVERNMENT DOESN’T WANT US TO HELP. It’s their country, let them do what they want. Why do we always have to get involved?

When Katrina hit New Orleans, our government was so slow to respond, that all our media could talk about for weeks was how bad it was. Hell…New Orleans is still trying to recover 2 years later. Where is all the government funding for THAT project? Where were all of the other countries that are our friends? Why didn’t France send in workers to try and help the homeless in Louisana? 

I don’t understand globalization. I live on a cul-de-sac street. We have very little traffic and I should know all of my neighbors. But I don’t. I know most of the ones who smile at me and say hello, but not everybody is that friendly. If they don’t want to know me, I might wave, but I don’t have to know their names or their families or their history. I just wave and go about my day. So why do we have to be the ambassadors of good will to every country in the world?

So this is where I disagree with our world today. I just don’t understand why we have American troops dying in another country in a war that is sucking down billions of American dollars and for what? Does anybody know? And if a small country on the other side of the world declines our generosity, is it so much for us to wave and say, “Have it your way. We’ll be here if you need us!”? Let’s take care of ourselves first. There are so many ways that our country needs to improve. Education cost is rising. Jobs are fleeing our country at an alarming rate. We have a large contingent of homeless people who can use help. Our economy is in flux. How about we fix those problems?

Don’t get me wrong, I know we are still very much a rich nation. As much as we gripe about gas prices and other such things, you can still go out for dinner on a Wednesday night and not find a parking spot. In a lot of cases, we have put ourselves in the economic predicament we are in, and we turn our heads and do nothing. Charge it up! Let’s see how long our economy lasts. But that is OUR problem. Maybe we should start looking into credit and how to regulate it. But somehow I doubt our government will. We are so busy making nice and meddling in everyone else’s business, that we have lost track of ourselves.

All you have to do is turn on the t.v. to see..we all want to be someone else. I argue this…let’s be ourselves and take care of our own. Then, once the ship is righted, let’s try to be friends. But until we get ourselves fixed, I don’t need to know my neighbor up the street. I need to get my home fixed first. And right now, my argument is…our house is broken.

Any thoughts? I look forward to some serious discussion on this one!