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- Week 2: Socrates and the Meaning of Life
- Week 3: Robert Bellah and the Pursuit of Happiness
- Week 4: Robert Bellah’s chapter 3
- Week 5 Bellah and West
- Week 6 Mid-term Exam
- Week 7 on Myth
- Week 8 Martin Luther King, Jr.
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- Weeks 11 Terry Eagleton chapters 2 and 3
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Bellah believes that as Americans try to make sense of the world around them they have become preoccupied with self fulfillment and individualism, leaving little emphasis community and common good. The PBS documentary tries to paint a similar picture. As individuals pursued fulfillment of the American dream (bigger house with more land) they moved further away from cities and into smaller communities. This concept of “sprawl” is similar to Bellah’s perception of isolation. And while Bellah contends that isolation is bad, the documentary revealed that because of the increased costs associated with long and congested commutes, (time and money) individuals are rethinking the decisions they made to move. Removing and isolating themselves from the big city did not serve to increase their happiness as they believed it would- in fact, the dream house was referred to as a prison because it prevented them from living. Would rebuilding our transportation system- one that links our cities to towns and places individuals in a closer proximity to one another- increase happiness and would it contribute to community? I am not sure this is the solution- perhaps it would for some and certainly it would not for others.
I found the PBS documentary to be very interesting. It really hits home to a great deal of issues many Americans are facing today with the economic crisis we are facing. Working for Remax at the beginning of the market crash, I was able to take to heart many of the issues that the individuals were facing. It put a new spin on things for me for I had never seen the direct link between the increase in gas prices and the housing market, I had always directly blamed the lending companies and thought everything else fell after.
I do agree with the idea that we as Americans had poor planning for our future economic well being as was stated in the documentary. At the height of the housing market many individuals were able to buy their dream houses that would have been out of their price range the past. These Americans were more interested in living in the quaint towns, the exurbs, with the good yards, great neighborhoods, in a good school district. They never anticipated a downfall in the market and the gas prices they may have to pay for living so far away from their workplace.
As the documentary stated, we have sprawled too far away from our workplaces. Consequently it has made getting to work extremely difficult for those that are now facing economic hardships with the current gas prices. Five to ten years ago, when these individuals were buying their dream homes in exurbia, they never would have thought that living in a suburb would be more practical. The documentary stated that individuals living in the exurbs are, “spending 25% of their income while those that live in the suburbs only spend 9%.” That is a drastic difference that, due to poor planning, not many people anticipated for.
As the documentary stated, people in today’s society are too dependent on the car. In order to fix the economic crisis we are in, I agree we need to put more of an emphasis on public transportation. We need to build communities as we used to where everything is closer together and has public transportation where people are able to get around without the car. We, as Americans, also need to put our pride aside, and start taking advantage of the public transportation that is provided to us in order to save money. While it may be difficult in many parts of the country, many individuals are starting to realize and take advantage of the public transportation. Since last November when gas prices hit an all time high of $3.10 per gallon, Americans drove, “53 billion less miles than the year before” through public transportation. This increase was found primarily in cities, the need is to get those living in the suburbs and exurbs to follow in the same trend.
I think that Obama’s idea to build a high speed public transit system will be a great development that could greatly benefit us during this time. While many feel it could be a waste of money, many also feel it could solve a great deal of problems within our society. Not only will it help our environment, make our roads less congested, it will save Americans a great deal of money getting to and from work, as well as being much safer than automobiles.
What it all comes down to is the planning for our future. We as Americans need to be ready for every situation possible, and many were blindsided by this economic hardship after the increase we had seen only a few years prior. As one individual stated in the documentary, “Who would have thought the bottom would drop out.”
The PBS documentary is a perfect example of what Bellah is talking about in chapter 3. In the readings Bellah talks about the transition from a collective form of self reliance to a more individualistic one. Just because a person purchased a home in the suburbs doesn’t mean they can necessarily afford it. When purchasing anything you have to pay for over a long period of time you must take into consideration whether or not you can still pay for it during difficult times. Most people take into consideration what they currently make and assume that they will remain gainfully employed, but what happens if gas prices sky rocket. If you live closer to the city you have public transportation available, more opportunities for employment, and affordable housing. Even though a person relies on public transportation they’re still self reliant. This is what Bellah means when he refers to collective self reliance. There’s a certain degree of interdependence between the individual and the people around him/her that doesn’t affect their independence.
In my opinion you can’t fault the people who are about to loose their homes entirely. Partial blame should be placed on the banks who knew the interest rates were variable, and eventually these families wouldn’t be able to afford them. They assumed the families would default on their loans and the bank would be able to take the house and resell it. This reinforces Bellah’s belief that individuals don’t focus on the greater good for all but solely for themselves.
The lack of community transportation is due to our increased value on independence. The automobile provided a sense of independence by giving us the ability to travel on a whim. This skewed value system has led to an over dependence on automobiles and in this time of economic crisis, we should be looking toward a more economical and community derived means of transportation. As a former resident of NYC I completely support the return of public transportation. Unfortunately for many, this may require a certain level of self reflection and self discipline. Our current economic crisis is based on the principles of our individualized values. We wanted the bigger house and the fancy car in order to be able to define our status; we need now to look toward more basic principles in order to achieve financial success amidst this economic downfall.
The economic crisis itself plays right into Bellah’s notion of an individualistic society. People became so wrapped up in their own welfare and greed that they lost sight of rational and moral obligations. The transportation issues is only one small representation of that.
This particular video was a great summation of public versus private individualism. Those families depicted in the video are a true microcosm of what we all experience and go through in this modern age of America. Those of us who do not live in the cities and do not have access to mass transit are more dependent upon our automobiles than we would like to believe. Without a car most of us would be jobless and looking for answerers. So why not be proactive and look towards better mass transit infrastructure? The video answered it best when the gentlemen looked totally shocked when asked if he would ever ride a train. “Ride a train with people I don’t know, I don’t know about that”. That comment really wowed me but I’m not so sure why I was shocked when many of us feel exactly the same way. Society has gotten so bad that many times we don’t even want to look at each other or acknowledge someones existence. I often wonder where we went wrong and if we can ever, as a people, get back to intercommunication and coexistence for the profit of all and not for the goal of escaping each other.
Robert Bellah’s discussion on how there is a real individualism that has taken place over the last several decades is also evident in the PBS video. Unfortunately, this push towards self-reliance/individualism has created multiple problems. In the video it was discussed that there is a greater community and world need for public transit, and that a push towards public transit would be better in the long run community wide. However, this constant push toward being self-reliant has created a mentality that is against what is good for the long run and greater good. In the video there were two men being interviewed. The friend of the main man being interviewed indicated even though he is having trouble making ends meet he is not willing to consider taking public transit because of the fact that he would no longer be self-reliant… although he used the word giving up freedom.
This is a big issue throughout the United States and I believe world wide. People need to stop thinking in the instant gratification that is gained from be individualistic, and think about the greater good and what it means in the long run. We have gotten ourselves into the economic and energy crisis by being self-reliant. There needs to be a better balance obtained between doing what is good for the community and being self reliant. Greater use of the public transportation system, and greater availability of it would be one start on giving up self-reliance for the greater community good.
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[...] Read Robert Bellah’s chapter 3 in the TYCO Packet. Write a 1-2 page synopsis and submit in your Campus Cruiser journal. Then watch this video on the PBS NOW website and comment here. [...]
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