Urban Issues and Actions

I truly enjoyed the discussions in class today. I felt like everyone was deeply pondering the social problems we are faced with in society and was attempting to come up with a real potential solution, if there are any. In an ideal world everyone would live their lives happily and never be faced with the problems that society is currently being faced with. Unfortunately, I do not think that most of the urban problems can be solved. More specifically, I do not think that we can end homelessness.

As my small group and I discussed the different causes or situations that lead to homelessness we realized that there is no easy way to generalize the cause of ‘homelessness.’ There are an infinite number of ways that a family or individual can end up homeless due to unfortunate circumstances such as poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, alcoholism, job loss, etc. Therefore, my group and I concluded that there is no way to prevent the endless number of unique circumstances that lead to homelessness. The best that society and the government can do is to minimize the amount of homeless by attempting to understand the situations that resulted in homelessness. By determining the major causes of homelessness, the government can focus on specific issues related to the causes and attempt to prevent people from becoming homeless. However, this would not end homelessness, it would minimize it.

Also, an interesting aspect of shelters that I have learned through research is that many are geared towards certain causes, and therefore only focus on one aspect that led to that individual or family’s homelessness and ignore their other problems. To shed some personal light on the issue, growing up my mom, brother, and I lived in three different shelters. Two of which were domestic violence shelters. The shelters were very well maintained, provided counseling, and plenty of clothing donations. Although during these rough times I was age seven through twelve, so my understanding of the actual situation was skewed. Obviously, my mom did not confide in me about the situation we were in, but even that young you know something is wrong when you move about ten times in five years. From what I remember the shelters were nice and fun, I was never scared or intimidated. The shelters even provided counseling for my mom and helped her get a job. However, once we got on our feet and had our own apartment, after all the shelter had given us in a short period of time, quickly we were down on our luck again. It was a horrible cycle for five years of my life until the true problem was confronted, my mom’s drug addiction. I don’t want to get into my whole past or ramble on about my life experiences during this time, I just want to make the simple point that even though the domestic violence shelter, which was brand new and run by a giving church, did everything they could possibly do to help us get back on our feet we still failed because of the other factors and causes in my mom’s life at the time. Therefore, without focusing on ALL of the causes of homelessness that are affecting an individual’s life it will be hard to prevent their return to the cycle of homelessness.

Does anyone else have any ideas to end homelessness? Proposals to end the many causes of homelessness? Thoughts?

In the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about America’s financial crisis. And rightfully so. After reading headline over headline, bailout over bailout, and attempting to understand how this economic situation arose–all I can see in America is a daunting future. Let me indulge my skepticism for a moment so I can better understand the condition of America.

American is in a hole. Our commitments overseas, most notably in the Middle East, are causing huge spending that could be used within the United States. Currently the United States spends more than half of its annual budget on defense. Another problem, is the spending on entitlement programs. The vast majority of the government budget goes to entitlements and defense. These entitlement programs include policies such as medicare, medicaid, and social security. With the growing age of the baby boom generation, the amount of entitlement spending will exponentially increase. By the year 2015 the number of citizens above the age of 80 will double. This obviously means even more government spending of entitlement programs. Health care has picked the pockets of many Americans across the nation. The number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States is health care related– either a family was struck by a chronic disease, an unexpected injury took place, or someone got sick at the same time as getting laid off. Health care is hurting our nation’s economy and not too mention the lack of good health care is making us physically sick.  Globalization has been an inevitable trend in the United States with job outsourcing and production off shoring. The increase number of unskilled workers without jobs is growing and employers who can get the job done cheaper– either overseas or with illegal immigrants–has also hurt the economy.

So now let’s take a calming breath and get back to the real question; what on Earth happened to America?  Many newspapers will say, the housing market failed us. The past month I have been puzzled by the American economy and the origins of the economic crisis. To be honest, I still don’t truly understand the economic problem as it relates to the housing subprime mortgage. Even after reading again and again how banks set low mortgages, then they lend the money away, sell these bundled up securities, then a thingy happens here with other banks and another thingy happens over there and bla bla bla…people become poor. In my confusion, however, I have realized something very important.  I have realized that the origin of our economic crisis is a multifaceted one. The economic problems that America faces today isn’t only an issue about housing, it’s a whole slew of issues and problems that need to address.  It is a whole array of escalating problems in the United States. The housing market was simply a tipping point.  So that brings me to the question of what can we do? How can we save ourselves? Now I am no presidential nominee (And very gladly so, because McCain or Obama are going to have a  frustrating time in the White House) but I believe that in order to solve the problem of the economy we have to address everything. Ambitious? For sure. Naiive? Most definitely. Impossible? Not at all.

Public policy makers have a tendency to compartmentalize tasks. This of course is necessary in order to get tasks done, but I believe that in order to do them effectively the great goal has to be insight. By this I mean, that a person working on education should focus on test scores but ultimately must realize that the education of child should be in relations to what occupation to hold. So, as an education policy maker you can’t just focus on test grades but you have to test on performance and skill. (Example of this mishap would be the No Child Left Behind Act).
 
Another tendency of public policy is it tends to be reactionary and always searching for the “quick fix” answer.  During the Cliton era, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich had the task of improving the economic situation of our country by decreasing the level of unemployment. In order to do this, Secretary Reich didn’t emphasize employer control or mandate that businesses hire more workers; he fixed the problem through investments on education. This is what America needs to do. American public policy needs more investment spending on its citizens, facilities, and businesses. Investment spending pays off very little in the short run but has grand dividends in the long run.

In order for policy makers to work together they have to have two things. A leader who understands the interconnectedness of goals and investment spending on the social capital of the United States. And they need better communication among each other. The American bureacracy is often to busy in their own worlds to collaborate together in order to get tasks done. The structure of Washington could be changed in order to flow and work through problems. In our civic engagement class we were discussing the effects that deindustrialization had on the city of Detroit. This lecture stemmed a discourse on the economic future of America. One comment from one of my peers went like this: “So basically…capitalism will be the demise of our country then.” I thought to myself, ‘what an intriguing notion.’  Could capitalism, Americas best friend and only noble ally throughout the years, be the ultimate lynch pin to the land of the free? I thought about it for a while and questioned myself throughout the week. My answer came in the form of Alan Greenspan. Yesterday, Alan Greenspan the former head of the Federal Reserve during the time of the Clinton Administration spoke in front of the house committee. Along with describing the economy situation and detailing the condition of the bailout, Greenspan commented on the free market. He said that he put too much trust in the free market. And that the government in the upcoming years will need more regulation on the workings of the free market. Coming from the man himself, this statement was extremely powerful.  I believe, that the free market in itself has been a magnificent tool for developing the United States. Many argue that the free market and our capitalist economy is the reason that our country had the success it did. But as we can see in the present day the free market also has its limits when it runs rampant. After hearing Alan Greenspan speak, I came back to what my fellow peer said. I do not believe that capitalism will be the downfall of America. I believe that governments can harness the ingenuity of capitalism the strengthening properties of the free market through proper regulation and bring this country back to life. I believe that the cause of crisis will be the tool of our revival. The question asked at in the minds of many hard worker, now, struggling Americans is will somebody save us?  I don’t think that anyone thinks that revival will be swift, but I do think that a combination of proper investment spending on education, health care, and job opportunities(such as green opportunities), will recharge businesses and confidence and will revitalize our country that is so sadly in despair. In order to do this however, there needs to be a wholelistic approach for repair, no fixing one thing at a time. This wholelistic approach calls for the need of the free market to emulate it’s properties once again, in a more public oriented fashion.

     On October 16, 2008, as a requirement for my Money, Politics and Prisons class, we visited the “notorious Richmond jail”, the jail with the reputation as the worst in Virginia. As the van approached the jail, located in downtown Richmond, I could see a brick building, surrounded by a fence with barbed wire located on the periphery. I stepped out of the van, approaching this building, as the family members crowded the entrance to see their love ones. Being welcomed by a yelling guard, we entered the building, passed the metal detector entering into a world of dehumanization, demoralization, suffering and pain.

      While walking down the long hallways, we were informed several things. First, the jail’s was built to house  about 800 people, but roughly 1600 people including juveniles, men and females are housed; therefore, the jail is overcrowded. Because of the overcrowded, most offenders were not housed in individual cells, but in large groups with flat beds and few urinals, which caused the offenders to fight over beds. In addition, the offenders, depending upon the offense committed, were specific uniforms. I am unable to recall all the colors, but the worst offenders (such as murders and rappers) are dress in white and black lined uniforms, many of whom were in the hallways standing and staring at us as we passed. On the floor of the hallway, are yellow lines on each side marking the boundaries in which the offenders were to walk. If they did not stay within those lines, more time could be added to their sentence. Alternatively, any form of disrespect and an attitude would result in disciplinary action; therefore, there is zero tolerance. Within the cafeteria, there were two compartments with bars located on the upper portion of the wall in which the armed guards would stand and monitor while hundreds of prisoners eat. If there was a disturbance, the doors were locked and pepper spray released.

     Walking throughout the jail was a very emotional and mentally draining experience because of the dehumanization, demoralization, suffering and pain of the offenders. First, my heart was ripped into two to see that the majority of people in their look like myself (Black American). In addition, it was difficult to see them caged like animals, told when to sleep, to eat and how to walk. They are not respected and have virtually no rights. In fact, they were not informed that we were coming, so some were not dressed, which further added to their dehumanization. In essence, we, University of Richmond students, were spectators as if we were at a zoo. So in essence, these people are treated as animals. Most of all, two things disturbed me the most: the experience of being placed in the whole and the use of Black Americans guards to implement a racist and dehumanizing system. When a person is out of control, they are placed in solitary confinement known as a whole, which is literally a whole in which a person stays for days and fed a “jail loaf”. The jail loft is all the leftovers cooked into a loaf.

        I decided to blog about this topic because it is important to make the link between systematic racism and discrimination, poverty and crime in urban America. It is interesting how the jail is located in downtown, inner city Richmond where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line, is predominately minority (Black and Hispanic) and are heavily policed because of inner city Richmond’s potential threat to Richmond suburbia. Also, there is a correlation between crime and poverty because in order to meet the basic necessities, one may have to steal or as housing projects are being displaced, more Blacks are forced into a small area (high density) were housing and job availability is poor. Therefore, the environment causes people to be angry and rebel against the system that created their plight. In addition, when Blacks enter into the jail, they are subjected to dehumanization and demoralization in name of control by the guards. For example, it is one thing to place someone in a whole, but why is it necessary to feed him or her the jail loaf? The reason is control through dehumanization and demoralization by breaking the emotional and mental resistance of the offenders. Because of what the offenders have to contend with, it was not surprising that they lashed out against us through verbal harassment. After, they are caged as animals and we were the spectators looking at them. The sad thing is that if animals were treated like this, millions of people including PETA would be angry. However, our society has been complacent and agreeable to this treatment of human beings.

       Because the jail is overcrowded and offenders controlled and disrespected, the “criminals” leave in worse shape than before. The warden of jail states that criminals are not adequately rehabilitated and leave the jail better criminals. He, along with his staff acknowledges that the system is flawed and needs to be change. Therefore, poverty, crime and imprisonment without rehabilitation and socio-economic endeavors to improve poor neighborhoods, continues to perpetuate a cycle of violence and contributes to the urban crisis.

The Refugee Resettlement Program is something that many haven’t even heard of. In fact, I didn’t know about it until last year. The whole program is run by the US government through different charitable organizations such as The Catholic Diocese of Richmond, the International Center and many more to introduce refugees from all around the world as newcomers into the communities of America and to help them earn a better living. Although the program has received a positive response for ensuring that people get a chance to live in a better environment, there are still some concerns how the refugees are going to fit into and contribute to the American society.

Positive aspect

This program has benefited both the parties i.e. America and the refugees as well as the countries that were hosting the refugees. It is beneficial to America as it increases the amount of labor available. Likewise, it increases the diversity of the country, bringing in new experience and new lifestyles, cultures, and traditions. With increasing diversity, the country will be more flexible in terms of its food, culture and religion.  It is beneficial to the refugees as it provides them with a new dimension towards life and an incentive to work hard. It helps them improve their lifestyles and provides meaning to their existence. Likewise it is important for the countries hosting the refugees, as now; they no longer have to fund the refugees and can utilize the resources in other fields to develop their countries.

Negative aspect          

  Although the program has positive effect towards all the parties, America is more likely to have more negative aspect. The refugees coming from other countries will not only have a hard time adjusting to American culture, but also will have a big impact on the labor market. It will lead to the overflow of labor shifting the labor market to the right making labor cheaper. The cheap labor will lead to a shortage of jobs and exploitation of the working class. However, another theory about them totally contradicts what the preceding argument was discussing. After living in refugee camps for several years, they are unable to recognize the value of hard work. They are so used to people donating to them the items they need that they won’t have an incentive to work hard causing the society to fall into total turmoil. Likewise, the government is responsible for their living and learning, which increases the expenses of the government. Another big problem is the issue of housing and how it affects public housing. When they come in, they are provided with an apartment for eight months and later they are left on their own to find an apartment. If the family coming in has the knowledge of the language and is able to adjust properly it won’t be a problem however if the family has to learn everything from the beginning there is no way they will be able to find a job and a apartment on time. In that case, the government is responsible for providing with public housing.

So looking at both aspects, is it worth it for America to bring in more refugees from all around the world? Currently they are focusing on refugees from Bhutan and Iraq and every city is expected to have at least 200 refugees from both countries.   

Questions circulated the minds of my classmates this week, as they probably circulate the minds of many American youth across the country: Why the strong resentment against socialism? Why are any programs involving government intervention and expansion in order to bring justice and equality to all Americans met with fierce opposition on the grounds of an explicit anti-socialism sentiment?

I believe the answer is rooted in American history. Ever since the colonies’ revolution against Great Britain, Americans clearly opposed government intervention. Any encroachment on personal was viewed as tyrannical, and Americans fiercely fought any advocates of governmental expansion. Even now, Americans balk at tax rates lower than most of the rates in other advanced democracies. President Regan was deeply admired by Americans because of his down-sizing of the federal government. Americans simply do not like any form of government control over their lives, and socialism is seen as the extreme of that control.

If the government intervened and created huge projects to combat poverty and equalize the playing field for all Americans, a massive expansion of government power and influence would be needed. Many aspects of life that are privatized would need to be nationalized, and taxes would have to be raised to fund a massive governmental endeavor. American sentiment, however, would simply not stand for such a large government. Not only would citizens cry out against “high” taxes and large government, they would also desperately uphold a capitalistic notion of “doing it on your own” and that everyone has an opportunity to accrue wealth if they work hard enough.

The problem is, not everyone can do it on their own. No matter how hard some people work, societal forces keep on knocking them down. Meanwhile, the greed perpetuated by capitalism encourages people to get rich at the expense of others.

Privatization of public works has failed. Poverty remains a huge national concern. If the government does not intervene to solve these problems, who will?

As a student in the leadership school’s Justice and Civil Society class I was required to go on a police ride-along for four hours.  I had heard that in the past some UR students had seen fights, robberies, and even participated in foot chases while on these ride-alongs and, thus, I was a little nervous for my own experience.  While, in the end, I discovered I had nothing to worry about, my experience certainly shed some light on the justice system in large cities such as Richmond as well as gave me a greater insight into the city’s dynamics.  I was taken to areas only ten minutes off of campus that I never even knew existed in Richmond and I learned what it’s like to be on the other side of the blinking sirens as a police officer. 

I arrived at the second precinct on October 9^th at 3:30pm.  When I got there the officers were just beginning their briefing where the higher ranking officers filled everyone else in on what had happened that morning and the evening before.  They described a robbery that occurred earlier that morning at a busy coffee shop and resulted in a foot chase where the officers were shot at by the suspect.  This incident had clearly unnerved the captain who, following the retelling of this event, made a speech reminding the officers of their mortality and their duty to protect themselves.  He told them that if they ever felt as though they were in a dangerous situation that they should, “Fire first and fire fast” because their lives were the most important things to consider.  I was startled by this statement, particularly in light of recent cases where police have been taken to court for unnecessary violence, however, it did seem to sober up the lighthearted and joking officers.

After the briefing the officers proceeded to their cars and I was introduced to the officer I would ride with.  Her name was Amy and she was a 25 year-old Asian woman who had been in the force for the past three years and who had a tough and semi-aggressive attitude that she said she had adopted because so many people she encountered didn’t take her seriously due to her gender, age, and ethnicity.  Interestingly enough, however, she told me that men actually respected her more on the job whereas woman were often more hostile and likely to talk back and become aggressive. 

In any case, as I sat next to her in the front seat I was really able to get an idea of what it was like to see Richmond from the police’s perspective.  She drove me all over her precinct and showed me several public housing projects, a lower class neighborhood, and even an inner city trailer park.  As we drove I couldn’t but help notice the looks of hate that were directed towards the cop car.  In my experience cop cars were a good thing to see driving around because it meant that the neighborhood was secure and safe, however, to these people cops seemed to symbolize The Man who was out to get them.  They resented the police because they saw them not as people there to protect them, but as a force to watch them and, ultimately, catch them in the wrong.  Before I could even comment on this to Amy she said to me, “Can’t you tell how much they hate us?  They wish we never came around so they could do whatever they wanted.”  I thought it was so interesting that the definition, symbolism, and meaning of the police in this neighborhood had been twisted to mean something entirely different than what the police were intended to represent in our society.  They had somehow gone from representing a force of justice and right and become the “bad guys”.      

However, despite the fact that the police are on patrol to help people, they are also, in essence, on patrol to catch people in the wrong.  In light of this fact, I can partially understand where some of the resentment these people felt for the cops.  Amy, in her desire to show me something exciting, kept saying we needed to find someone to pull over and, when we did interact with civilians; she adopted her tough, aggressive attitude.  She showed no mercy or patience with many of the people and I noticed a cavalier or jaded attitude on the parts of many of the officers.  They seemed to think that they had seen it all and that the people they interacted with were merely a part of the job, not actual individuals who needed help.  In addition, the officers used a serious call where a man had collapsed to the ground in convulsions as an excuse to hang out together.  They stood outside the ambulance, joking and laughing, and, meanwhile the man, who happened to be Hispanic, was inside the ambulance, struggling to communicate to the only officer who understood Spanish and explain what had happened and who he was.  Perhaps to the officers this was just another day of work, however, I was surprised at their casual attitudes and couldn’t help but wonder at what point one stopped being just another citizen with compassion and became an officer on the job. 

The police ride-along concluded at 7:30pm and I drove off from the precinct thinking about the trailer park full of Hispanic immigrants I never knew existed, the hatred I saw in the eyes of the people as we drove by, and the cavalier attitudes of the police officers.  I thought about what the chief said in the briefing and about the Hispanic man who we had “helped” and about how, once I arrived on Cary Street, everything I had just seen would suddenly be so far away and removed again.  The police ride-along was definitely an interesting experience that gave me a lot to think about in terms of justice and the divisions and composition of the city of Richmond.       

This semester, I am currently enrolled in Intro. to Cultural Anthropology 101. You may wonder why I’m even talking about this….

Well, when I applied for this class, Urban Crisis in America, I really didn’t think this class would relate to any of my other courses this year. I was completely wrong. Many of the discussions I’ve had in Anth. 101 had a lot to do with urban issues or even social issues such as economic/racial inequality as well as social hierarchies.

Just recently, we were asked to read a book, In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. by Philippe Bourgois, that is an ethnography (anthropologist study) that focused on Puerto Rican crack sellers in Harlem, NYC. What I found interesting and disturbing was what I read in Chapter 2 of the book. Basically, the whole chapter discussed the effects of the invasion of the United States in Puerto Rico as well as the life of the Puerto Rican immigrants in NYC.

It was said that when the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, the main concerns were those of military issues rather than economic issues. The US actively transformed Puerto Rico’s  economy, paying little to almost no attention to local and cultural needs. Land and power were concentrated under the ownership of large U.S owned agro-export companies forcing hundred of thousands of small farmers to leave their plots of land to seek wage-labor employment else where. Many Puerto Ricans then immigranted to the US to find work such as, light manufacturing or work in garment factories.

As a result to the US invasion, “an overtly racist ‘cultural assault’” became the ideology that shaped the lives of many Puerto Ricans. For those that immigrated, their cultural orientation and self-esteem was merely based on respect. It was said that they were “humiliated and despised with a virulence that is specific to North America’s history”. Bourgois seems to indirectly blame the US for what has happened to the people in Harlem. He wrote that “the overwhelming changes imposed so rapidly on the formerly rural-based Puerto Rican population translate statistically into high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, broken families, and deteriorated health in New York’s inner city.” Throughout this chapter, he also mentions the extremely high levels of racism amongst the Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites. He quotes, “It is precisely this kind of physically concentrated and ethnically segregated poverty that allows violently self-destructive street cultures to engulf public space and vulnerable lives in so many inner city, marginal, working-class neighborhoods throughout the United States”. With that, he identified various crack dealers (who he befriended during his time in Harlem) and found out that their way of life is highly dependent on respect among other crack dealers and their clients, causing their “sub-culture” to be heavily relied on drugs, gangs, and violence to survive. Moreover, Bourgois also discussed the incoming of infrastructural construction projects that resulted to slum-clearance, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, making Harlem one of the poorest neighborhoods in the history of the United States.

Now that you guys have read about this, what do you think? Do you feel that the United States are to be blamed for the deterioration of various communities? Do you think that the US is really the reason why people result to committing crimes/murder or selling drugs? If not, who do you feel is to blame for creating misguided “sub-cultures” in society? Is it the individual, the environment and its people, or the over-arching authority that changes and controls the way we live in society?

Earlier this month, the Civic Engagement House went on a bus tour of the city of Richmond.  The group started the tour in a grandiose gated neighborhood called Windsor Farms. As we drove through the streets of Windsor Farms our class “ooed” and “awed” at the magnificent property and elegant houses that made up this very selective neighborhood.  As we moved a long we went down Monument Avenue into the Fan Area.  The Fan seemed to be an area full of life. Although the houses were nowhere near as upscale as those in Windsor Farms, the Fan houses were quant, well kept, and flourishing. Eventually we crossed Shaco Bottom and we saw a different side of Richmond. The communities we saw from here on were far different from the ones like Windsor Farm.  These communities were far different from the ones we first saw at Windsor Farms. Jackson ward and Church Hill had no grassy lots, no parking lots filled with Hummers and Mercedez Benz. Instead houses were tightly packed and run down.

Richmond is divided by race, economic status, and social status. To paint this picture, the percentage of white residents in Windsor Farm, the wealthiest neighborhood in Richmond is 99%. In contrast, the percentage of white residents in Church Hill North, the poorest neighborhood in Richmond is 3%.  According to Dr. Moeser the leader of our bus tour, the segmentation of Richmond is due to an intricate history of racism, prejudice, and public policies. When driving through Richmond, it was as if we saw many different cities all hiding underneath the name of Richmond. In many ways, this is actually true. Each section of Richmond has their own flag, they have their own police officers, and most important they have their own county representative. This may lead to several problems when it comes to the overall welfare of Richmond. Most notably, it leads to the increased marginalization and segregation of low income neighborhoods and minorities.  The lack of unified leadership, has created separate demographics which many argue perpetuate racial tensions between differing groups.

This past summer marked my first summer as a college student. It was good to see familiar faces such as family members and old high school friends. A common question that they would ask me is, “what’s Richmond like?” In order to answer this effectively, I’d always have to specify whether they want to know about the suburb or the city because in my mind they are two complete different worlds.

I was inspired this weekend to get to know my small town of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, a bit better.  Reading Dolores Hayden’s Building Suburbia and learning how the transportation revolution affected mass transportation, I began to look at my town differently and wondered how we fit into the bigger picture.  Here’s what I found: 

Ephrata, Pennsylvania, actually grew out of the Ephrata Cloister, one of the country’s earliest religious communities.  Dolores Hayden mentions these “communitarian settlements” as a sort of foreshadowing into the future of suburbia, mentioning the celibate Shaker villages as an example.  The Ephrata Cloister, founded in 1732, illustrates these communitarian settlements perfectly.  Every member of the community (nearly 80 celibate members, and around 200 members from the “married” church) worked collectively and shared everything.  Everybody fulfilled a specific position; they were perfectly self-sustainable and desired no contact from the outside world.  They put great care into their houses, gardens, and lawns.  It was a sort of “suburbia” of the 18^th century.

I guess I knew a lot of this history of the Cloister from the many field trips I have taken there through the years, but now I look at it with a different perspective.  It was from this community that the modern-day town of Ephrata grew, and although I don’t consider Ephrata part of suburbia per se, it was founded on a very early idea of what suburbia is today. 

I also began to think about Ephrata in terms of transportation.  Ephrata is not really a town that is easily accessible by walking; grocery stores and other necessities are miles away from the town center.  I have noticed a few bus stops here and there around town, but rarely do I see a bus or many people waiting to be picked up.  Cars are a must in Ephrata, unless you want your day to be controlled by the bus schedule.  I immediately thought of the train that used to run through my town.  The rail bed was recently turned into a bike path, the station is now the visitor’s center (see below left), and an old caboose is now a lawn ornament (see below right).  Mass transportation in Ephrata died very quickly with the production of cars.  What was once a thriving town is struggling to attract tourists and keep stores open on Main Street.  This is just the story of my little town in this large country, but it unfortunately resonates with many other areas.  I think these stories highlight just how important it is to provide mass transportation; in my opinion, some sort of reliable mass transportation is the sole factor that could save a struggling town. 

I have to be honest.  I never thought about a “car culture” and my perpetuation of it.  But car culture is pervasive throughout America’s history and society.  With all of the damage that cars do to our environment and with the current increase in gas prices, one would imagine that Americans with cars would drive less and opt for public transportation.  But many of us don’t.  Instead of saving money and the environment , we buy hybrids or just flat-out ride around on “E” all of the time.  I had never thought about it before, but listening to the concept of “car culture” made me ask myself: why is it that many Americans resist public transportation?

The answer made me think about my own up-bringing.  I grew up in a lower-middle class family where we always had two or three cars that oftentimes did not run properly.  But instead of watching my mother use the bus that stopped a block from my front door, I watched my father bury his head for hours under the cars’ hoods and then pray that he and my mother made it to work and back safely.  In the end, most of my father’s paychecks went to fixing cars.  And yet, we never stopped and thought, “Gee, wouldn’t it be cheaper to take the city bus to work?” Now that I think about it, few people in my neighborhood rarely took the city bus. I myself only took it a few times in my eighteen years of living there because my parents, and later I, always had vehicles to take me from point A to point B.  Having a car quickly became a necessity, along with food, water, and shelter, for my family and me.  I can imagine many families can identify with this.

Why has owning a car become so seemingly necessary for Americans? Well, if you take a look at the media, car ownership has saturated our culture.  Automobile commercials introducing the latest, most expensive, and most extravagant cars are played constantly.  Television shows that allow celebrities to show off their gaudy vehicles leave many viewers in awe and amazement.  Through such portrayals in the media, many Americans have come to see vehicle, especially expensive vehicle, ownership as a sign of wealth and prestige.  Consequently, public transportation has come to be associated with low-incomes and poverty.  Whenever a movie shows public transportation usage, I notice the scowls on the faces of minority, working-class people while happy faces in cars whiz by.  One would think that the thought of the money saved by using public transportation would be enough to put a smile on the passengers’ faces; but, unfortunately, that does not correspond with the portrayals of the media and the mentality of many Americans. Public transportation has transformed into an identifier of class, and not the class that coincides with the “American dream.”

It amazes me how society manages to place class identifications on things as simple and helpful as public transportation.  What amazes me more is how after writing this blog, I most likely will not use the public transportation that is offered to me. I guess it takes more than just a blog to get rid of what I think of as a “necessity.”