Neighbor (이웃)

Neighbors (Iut in Korean)- Ned Flanders. Cosmo Kramer. Wilson (Home Improvement). I grew up in a culture where neighbors were a supremely important part of the the culture and one's everyday life. Almost every episode of The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Home Improvement, the neighbor would make an appearance and in many cases play a large part in the plot development, whether it was offering friendly advice, being a morale boost, or partaking in the general shenanigans that were going on in the apartment.That was reflective of the real lives of everyday Americans, myself included growing up in suburban Chicago. My parents and I knew all the neighbors in every direction, what time they watered their lawns, if we could borrow a wrench or other tool, if they went to church or not, what nationality they were. Part of that was because it was a kid-friendly neighborhood and most of the neighbors had kids who we befriended, but that was part of the culture: kids played with other kids in the neighborhood. I remember vividly when I was a kid which house I knew to avoid when we were playing baseball (not to hit it in their yard), which cars when driving by belonged to whom, which doors to knock on if we went trick-or-treating or to round up kids to play a game outside. All that information wasn't available on the internet, and not even via the phone. You just knew from knowing the neighborhood and your neighbors. (This whole rant coincidentally is brought on by Bryan Cranston on the Bill Simmons podcast lamenting with him about how kids nowadays ask to get driven to playdates 20 minutes away and how at 16 every kid he knew wanted to get his driver's license. Ah the good old days- not as old as Bryan Cranston, but still)

I think America and society as a whole is missing that level of neighborly love. I live in an apartment complex in downtown Los Angeles now and we know zero people on our floor, know none of our neighbors, and don't acknowledge neighbors when they're obviously entering the apartment. It's as much my fault as the neighbors' fault, but I suspect it's reflective of the trend throughout America and the world, Iphones and the internet are taking up all our attention, the cyber world feels closer than the physical world, someone connecting via the cloud feels much closer than someone connecting 5 feet away. (It's also possible that living in Los Angeles, a West Coast city known for little patience and search for instant stardom, is partially the cause v. living in a suburban, family-values type of neighborhood).

We don't talk to people on the bus, or train, or in the elevator when we're the only 2 people in the elevator for example. Everyone's always on their headphones, looking at their phones, or it's just awkward silence. The neighbor problem spreads (like wildfire, coincidentally like the current status of LA) to general interaction with every person you encounter, you don't want to risk looking too desperate, too much like a stalker, like a creep, like you're drunk and want to have a conversation, or like you're trying to sell someone something). Often it's just that people know that if you talk to a stranger, after the conversation is over, he or she will become a total stranger again and the conversation would have been pointless. That's the most dangerous thing of all: having no incentive to talk to people, losing human interaction. It is, unfortuantely, the world we live in.