tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post4181860282313174704..comments2023-11-02T09:08:09.242-07:00Comments on <i>Daddy Dialectic</i>: We vs. MeJeremy Adam Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-41304369048443530072007-02-28T22:24:00.000-08:002007-02-28T22:24:00.000-08:00No defense of the 'burbs from me Jeremy. I grew u...No defense of the 'burbs from me Jeremy. I grew up in suburban Detroit, but I've spent most of my adult life living in small town & rural settings. Whenever (with one regretable exception)my wife and I have contemplated moving back to suburbia we quickly decide "no". BTW, I wholeheartedly agree with you about negative impact technology has on social and family time!Lord Grattanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17503754089012766419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-31218302785199147652007-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:002007-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00Sean: The parallels between our lives continue: I ...Sean: The parallels between our lives continue: I lived for five years in Saginaw, from the ages of 10 till 15. (I also note, from checking out your blog, that you appear to be a science fiction reader...)<BR/><BR/>Sometimes I worry that I have a distorted idea of the suburbs...it's been such a long time since I lived in one, and my view was defined by the hormone-crazed angst-tinted glasses of adolescence. Does anybody out there want to come to the defense of suburbs? <BR/><BR/>A couple of months ago, I published <A HREF="http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v21n1/smith_no_cities.html" REL="nofollow">this article about the contrasting politics of urban and suburban and exurban areas</A>. Does social isolation breed right-wing politics? I don't know; it feels reductionist to say so, and certainly the cities are not utopia. Yet my experience tells me, overwhelmingly, that cities are actually less isolating places, and more tolerant, and their citizens are more conscious of social inequality, and more willing (at least in the abstract) to address those inequalities.Jeremy Adam Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-9378544019054599162007-02-22T17:02:00.000-08:002007-02-22T17:02:00.000-08:00I'm originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I live in...I'm originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I live in NYC now. Whenever I go back home, I see all these houses around nice parks and green spaces. At night, everyone is in their home watching TV. How nice would it be if instead, on warm summer evenings when the sun sets late, people gathered in these parks. Local musicians, theater, improv, just goofing off every night, instead of zoning out alone at home.<BR/><BR/>I wish there were more of that, people out and about. Entertainment should be something that we create together, instead of consume in collective isolation.Existential Weathermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362086792365008939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-91498966449592796452007-02-16T09:42:00.000-08:002007-02-16T09:42:00.000-08:00Literally minutes after I posted the comment above...Literally minutes after I posted the comment above, I read <A HREF="http://thestar.blogs.com/parenting/2007/02/a_brave_new_wor.html" REL="nofollow">this post by Andrea Gordon</A> on a new report from Statistics Canada that reveals how technology use is eroding social and family time. Well worth a read, if you're interested in the topic. <BR/><BR/>Always when I read stuff like this, I ask, does it match my experience? I use a lot of tech (I'm using it right now!); I honestly don't think that it's cut in to my family time or social life. But we don't own a TV. We don't own a car. We live in a densely populated urban area, in a smallish apartment that drives us out into the streets, and we spend a lot of leisure hours in playgrounds and other public spaces. When I think about living in the suburbs, where I grew up, and living a more middle-class lifestyle, it feels very lonely to me.Jeremy Adam Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-56164789526793140612007-02-16T09:31:00.000-08:002007-02-16T09:31:00.000-08:00I think you're right about all of this. We're livi...I think you're right about all of this. We're living right now on an evolutionary bridge, which is always a confusing place to be with lots of complex and paradoxical things happening.Jeremy Adam Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11733669114207985920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23363296.post-67191117638700831682007-02-13T16:49:00.000-08:002007-02-13T16:49:00.000-08:00Interesting stuff as usual. We shouldn't underesti...Interesting stuff as usual. We shouldn't underestimate the role of technology. TV and the internet keeping people home. Air conditioning keeping people inside. Cars, airplanes, cell phones. Etc. <BR/><BR/>While the machines connect us in many ways. They also make face to face intimacy more and more rare.<BR/><BR/>That said, having a kid is a great way to meet cool new people!<BR/><BR/>You might find Bowling Alone interesting if you haven't read it yet.Stephen de las Herashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11125382563683113978noreply@blogger.com