Do people care less now than in the olden days or does it just seem that way?

Question

I've heard that when someone's barn burned down, all the neighbors would have a barn raising. They supplied the wood, the manpower and even the women would all donate a dish and they'd make a party of it. Do you think in general people today have the same empathy for their neighbor?

Answer 1

in some ways i think they do,,,,, if a home burned down, many people in the city and city organizations supported by the people, would help out,,,,,,,so its not a case of caring less,,,, it really probably is a case of , due to all our activities in life, we dont get to know those in our neighborhood as close as people did in the past, even now, take a child to a new neighborhood, they get out and meet people,,,,,congregate with other children, and i imagine if we grown ups did not have our computers and tv's and games, we would also,,,,, only by getting to know people can you personally care about them, in a day to day sense,,,

Answer 2

Yes, people today are less empathetic. There are several stories where someone was getting raped or murdered in a busy area,and no one would rescue them or even call the cops.They just look and walk on! Used to, when you move into a new neighborhood, you would get a visit from all the neighbors to say hello, and drop off a dish. That rarely happens now. Of course, whenever you do hear a story like that now, the nice person usually gets murdered, raped, or missing. So, with the world becoming more sinful and untrustful, it's becoming harder and harder to help others.On the other hand, Jesus would expect us to continue being kind and helpful. He said "whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you have also did it to me." Even though this world is a scary place, Jesus will give us the strength to help others. Afterall, christians are "not of this world"!

Answer 3

Society has evolved above the need for dependance on one another. In the past we once lived in close communities where everyone had a role or a part to play.

It is not like this today, we live in much larger communities and there is no need to know your neighbour as there are hundreds of people that you can call on to fill that role/part eg tradesmen.

In essence people are moving away from each other, though we still live in what we now call a community there are great rifts which only separate people into their own social groups based on class, ethnicity and interests.

As people become more angry also they take this out on neighbours when they are merely trying to have fun, the slightest noise is apparently now worthy of a beheading.

It also seems in today's society people are more inclined to look for enemies rather than friends, a few friends is good but if you have many enemies then you have something to gossip and talk about with you few friends, and also someone to take the frustrations of the world out on, or just to annoy when you are incredibly bored.

It is a sad state of affairs, i wish society was still like the way you described but it is not. We evolved from Neanderthals to become community dwellers, now it looks like we're going backward, and it is a downhill slippery slope which is sure to end in disaster.

Answer 4

I think it depends on where you live. I could be stranded in my car here and literally 1000's would drive by without a notice. But when I lived in Nebraska the very next car would stop and help and probably the next 2 or 3 just to be sure you were ok. I met practically the whole town in a couple of days there and here they avoid any contact. I've tried to help an elderly woman who was struggling with her shopping cart in a steep inclined parking lot and she was petrified to have a stranger come close. I helped load a big bag of birdseed into the cart a person in a wheel chair was struggling with and she let me but she couldn't get away quick enough. I'm 5'2 and hardly a scarey person and I bathe daily.......but people are afraid. I've asked people for what used to be a favor in the old days ,but they won't now, without being paid for it. It's definately not the same. People are too busy with their own lives to be concerned about anothers.

Answer 5

If someones barn burnt down today exactly the same thing would happen.Disasters bring out the good in people. When there is a bush fire here it is all hands on deck, and women even make sandwiches and meals for fire fighters. Do you think in the olden days anyone cared about starving kids in ethiopia or the plight of the panda?

Answer 6

They did this when I was a kid. If one family was building something on their property, all the neighbors would donate a weekend to the effort and, the job (be it a block wall or a garage or landscaping) was done quickly and affordable.

The entire culture of today denotes expedience, and this includes neighborly qualities. It seems that if one's neighbors can't offer one something, a service or something else, then one can't be bothered with that person when there are people to schmooze who do have what you want. Just my take on my young neighbors, who looked at me like I wanted their firstborn when I showed up on their doorstep with a welcome basket worth about a hundred dollars. That all their new "neighbors" pitched in with an item or donated money for an item and signed a welcome card, didn't mean anything. Not one of us has heard a single thing from them. The term neighbor has somehow become a term for geographical location rather than a term of endearment

Answer 7

No, I think people still care, but not near as much as they used to. We just don't seemed to be affected by the little things that really matter, like a good neighbor or friend. The world today, and most its people seemed to be more worried about the things of this world more than the people.

Answer 8

This is a really good question. Long ago, most of the population lived in rural areas. The nearest neighbour might've been a mile away, with farmland in between. You knew that neighbour's name because that was the closest human being to you, for outside companionship and for help when needed. A smaller populace usually evokes feelings of friendship more so than a large population where people can become indifferent. In other words, if you knew that you only had a few neighbours as your closest friends, you'd be more likely to want to hang on to those relationships than if you were totally surrounded by neighbours, so you valued that situation by helping each other and treating them as you would want to be treated. Also, there was more bible-thumping in the old days, and most social aspects were more confined and strict. As population shifted to urban settings, you didn't have to rely on your neighbours for help to get the crop in and to help birth your baby, because such things either didn't apply, or help was close at hand, or needs were fulfilled by being able to go to the store and buy some meat or a ready-made suit instead of having to raise it or grow it or make it. So as society evolved, so did its treatment of others. And with the rise in population, so rose the odds of bad things happening more often. Thefts would rise; people started locking their doors, unheard of in the country. It would be easier for some people to do bad things to strangers--so many more of them now--than would be the case if there were many fewer people. So with the change to more people, the nameless, faceless neighbour became the norm. As someone stated, most people don't know their neighbours, and this is usually because in people's minds, they don't want to invest in a possible friendship with a neighbour when that person could move at any time in this rapid-paced world, so it would feel like time invested in a neighbour who would never be seen again would be time wasted. We feel that anything less than permanent is not valid, so relationships that could happen don't happen. In a society where many things have become disposable, neighbours and their possible friendships suffer as well. People don't want to put out any time or effort for their neighbours because it's simply easier to stay among their own social groups. Neighbours move; established friends usually stay as friends whether they move or not. So it has become more efficient in a society based on efficiency, to not become friends with neighbours in the first place. Hope this answers your question.

Answer 9

In some instances we hear about these kinds of situations where people go out of their way to help others rebuild their lives , but I think the Media would rather give us the bad news because it seems to them that it is more exciting . I do believe people still care about their neighbors .

Answer 10

There is still some very caring people out there but yes it seems to me todays people seem to be wraped up in there on lives to care about some one else its kind of like why should we worry its not our problem some one else will help. I belive they cared more for each other in the olden days.