Americans’
lack of sense of place and connection with the community is explained in the
article, “Place and Placelessness in American History” by David Glassberg. This difficulty is a result of our modern
society hindering the development of connections. Certain aspects of towns can be very similar across
the country. The lack of home style
uniqueness can make it more difficult for Americans to find something special
to connect with. For example, because every
Wal-Mart is almost exactly the same, and one never seems to be too far away, it
is hard to feel a sense of connection to a community that is not unique.
Historically,
as entire American families packed up their belongings and moved to another
region seeking a better life, this caused further loss of place. The families were not as attached to their
new locations and this feeling still resides in our culture today. Stores such as Wal-Mart are more geared for
accommodating tourists since those familiar with the store are familiar with
the types of products they can buy there.
This need to appeal to visitors represents the mobile lifestyle of many
Americans. Moving around hinders the
connection to a community, because it limits the amount of time that a strong
and unique connection can develop.
Some
bind the idea of a sense of place with the idea that a group of people residing
in one location should never change over time.
Without this imaginary setting, a sense of place cannot be
established. Compared with that view, it
would be very difficult for any American, with a busy and dynamic lifestyle, to
establish a firm sense of place.
Glassberg
does not agree with this idea that Americans cannot develop a sense of
community. He provides several examples
of how a busy American can indeed have a sense of place. He explains that as our world changes, our
senses of place have changed with it. As
cities have developed, new locations for a sense of place formed with the new
environment. These connections are
different for everyone depending on who they are and their personal
background. Even though many of the same
types of buildings can be found nationwide, true senses of place can still be
established in the community and a specific site through individual
memory. American lifestyle has also led
us to having multiple connections in different locations. For example, there can be connections with a
hometown and another city’s sports team.
Each sense of place is also tied with a certain memory of time.
Destruction
of sense of place was one of the main arguments against Disney’s America. The location of the site would drastically
alter the surrounding area physically and would forever change the atmosphere
of the area. Close to the potential site
in Virginia was the Manassas National Battlefield Park. Community activists had already fought hard
for the security of the site from developers.
When Disney tried for the land, even more activists joined the fight for
its continued protection, including environmentalist groups and instate and
out-of-state historic preservation organizations. They argued that the encroachment of
simulated history would destroy the current bona fide history of the Manassas
National Battlefield Park. The creation
of this theme park put every one of the Virginia residents on the defense in
order to protect this drastic degradation of their sense of community and
space.
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