Have we become a nation of misanthropes?

Question

It seems to me that community bonds are rapidly dissolving. People are becoming increasingly more insular and less connected to their neighbors. The most frightening thing about this is that I'm not an old fella talking about the "good old days". I am 21 and I can see humanity worsening in my local communities within periods of single years.

Case in point:

I was walking through the park with my dad and we walked past a father and his two children, a son of about 12 and a daughter (age about 6-7) who were fishing. The kids caught lots of fish so when we walked past them, I asked them both for a high-five. That's just the type of thing I do. The father only looked at me as though I was some kind of pedophile freak.

Is this what the bad news on TV is doing to people? Doesn't that make evil win?

What the hell is wrong with people? Aren't we supposed to want the unity of mankind, not it's desolation? It's little things that are important and they aren't happening...

Answer 1

The problem is that people are afraid. They know that there are all kinds of sickos out there, so people are very wary of strangers. I think it's partly because nowadays people are more informed and when something horrible happens they hear about it, but I think the government and the media have also added to the fear for the sake of their own agenda. They want to make people feel like they're very unsafe, because then people let the government do what they want and the media gets more viewers because people want to know what they should be looking out for.

It has become kind of crazy and I agree, it wasn't like this just a few years ago. All this fear is not necessary. Caution is good, but society has become too paranoid.

Answer 2

Well, society today is open to ALOT of different people with different beliefs, pasts, and ideas. I agree that there are some people who are very misanthrope, but its something people have to face, due to the fact that different people have different lives. From ur situation with the father and two kids, there may be a chance of u just meeting the wrong people at the worng time or they may be afraid of what is open among society today.