The new city and the old city
1 June 2021 By Abiodun Giwa
Lady Liberty - A symbol of freedom (Courtesy: The Chestertown Spy).
The 2021 Memorial Day Holiday in the United States is over, but its memory will linger. Attention has turned to the debate over the surge of gun violence and the increase in the crime rate in major cities. Political pundits on both sides of the aisle disagree over the cause of the rise in violence. Some of the pundits are still seeking to defund the police, while others say defunding the police amid a high crime wave is not the solution for peace in major American cities.
The right-wing pundits opine that the violence and crime wave is in the Democratic-controlled cities. However, the left-wing pundits do not hide their support for the government initiative at redirecting funds from the police to other social service areas. The issue seems politicized with the affected cities as reminders of the discourse between Socrates and Adeimantus in Plato's The Republic about livable cities becoming unmanageable after a spell of time.
Coming to mind here in New York City, the Big Apple, which remains the most boisterous commercial city in the country and the world. Equally, it is also the financial capital of the world. It is the home to Lady Liberty – a gift from the French people to the U.S. to mark America's independence from Britain as a symbol of freedom. Students across the country learn about the history of the fight for freedom. And that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Everyone has come from somewhere to settle here for a better life.
New York City was the major entry point to the country in the early days of immigration into the country. Ellis Island, where Lady Liberty stands aloft - with a torch of freedom, serves as the point for examining immigrants for health certification. And those who fail the health scrutiny are sent back. It was not an open border where anyone can stroll into the country unchecked. There was strict government control. The type of control that ensured the safety of those who were already residents, to avoid exposure to health problems. It is unlike a situation where there is no control, and the situation becomes unmanageable like what is happening in major American cities.
Manifestly, it seems not only American cities have fallen into the category of old towns immigrants left behind that have become unmanageable. People left their former homes in the absence of a livable environment accentuated by bad governance and poor economy. In the study of Sociology of Immigration, poor governance and bad economy account for immigrants leaving their home cities cities to emigrating to other places. It is called is the Push factor. At the same time, the one that attracts them to new areas is called the Pull Factor. Therefore, the livability of cities in advanced countries served as a Pull Factor that attracted immigrants to these nations.
Virtually all immigrants sing melodic songs about their new cities away from their old towns. Immigrants have learned their new homes are livable compared to their old homes. Still, they know their new homes are nowhere comparable to the New Jerusalem, where the scripture says there is no problem of want and abandonment to one's problems. The sight of people begging for money and food in the subway, and homeless people living on the street in major cities, a development that has become part of the story of significant cities in the U.S, attest to the testimony that perfection is far from earthly existence.
What has happened to cities left by immigrants to come to advanced countries is now happening to cities once viewed as livable. Mugging and killing on the streets amid absence of safety. Availability of jobs and high wages in developed countries and the lack of the same in some other countries are differences between former homes and new homes. However, one must not overlook the praises that are often poured on American founding fathers for their ingenuity that has ensured an arrangement and control towards near perfection but now under the threat of loss. These founding fathers left behind a political process that ensures transparency and accountability in which the U.S. is a leader among equals. It is undeniably a part of the Memorial Day story. Founding fathers' manifest love for the country transformed into everyone willing to fight and lay down their lives for the country.
One may need to read about the human resources management in the country - part of the Public Administration curriculum in colleges concerning the curbing of discrimination in employment to appreciate continuous efforts towards diversity and inclusiveness. The Equal Employment Opportunity, EEO, is a law that does not require harassment of anyone or a group but has provisions through which people can formally seek redress. The law forbids discrimination based on color, sex, age, among others. The law's tentacle covers both government and private entities.
It is a manifestation of a problem that shinning cities of yesteryears have become unmanageable that leaders that should be for the protection of all are pontificating and claiming protection for a particular group against another group without a recourse to all the resources that their predecessors left in the books for guidance.
The right-wing pundits opine that the violence and crime wave is in the Democratic-controlled cities. However, the left-wing pundits do not hide their support for the government initiative at redirecting funds from the police to other social service areas. The issue seems politicized with the affected cities as reminders of the discourse between Socrates and Adeimantus in Plato's The Republic about livable cities becoming unmanageable after a spell of time.
Coming to mind here in New York City, the Big Apple, which remains the most boisterous commercial city in the country and the world. Equally, it is also the financial capital of the world. It is the home to Lady Liberty – a gift from the French people to the U.S. to mark America's independence from Britain as a symbol of freedom. Students across the country learn about the history of the fight for freedom. And that the U.S. is a country of immigrants. Everyone has come from somewhere to settle here for a better life.
New York City was the major entry point to the country in the early days of immigration into the country. Ellis Island, where Lady Liberty stands aloft - with a torch of freedom, serves as the point for examining immigrants for health certification. And those who fail the health scrutiny are sent back. It was not an open border where anyone can stroll into the country unchecked. There was strict government control. The type of control that ensured the safety of those who were already residents, to avoid exposure to health problems. It is unlike a situation where there is no control, and the situation becomes unmanageable like what is happening in major American cities.
Manifestly, it seems not only American cities have fallen into the category of old towns immigrants left behind that have become unmanageable. People left their former homes in the absence of a livable environment accentuated by bad governance and poor economy. In the study of Sociology of Immigration, poor governance and bad economy account for immigrants leaving their home cities cities to emigrating to other places. It is called is the Push factor. At the same time, the one that attracts them to new areas is called the Pull Factor. Therefore, the livability of cities in advanced countries served as a Pull Factor that attracted immigrants to these nations.
Virtually all immigrants sing melodic songs about their new cities away from their old towns. Immigrants have learned their new homes are livable compared to their old homes. Still, they know their new homes are nowhere comparable to the New Jerusalem, where the scripture says there is no problem of want and abandonment to one's problems. The sight of people begging for money and food in the subway, and homeless people living on the street in major cities, a development that has become part of the story of significant cities in the U.S, attest to the testimony that perfection is far from earthly existence.
What has happened to cities left by immigrants to come to advanced countries is now happening to cities once viewed as livable. Mugging and killing on the streets amid absence of safety. Availability of jobs and high wages in developed countries and the lack of the same in some other countries are differences between former homes and new homes. However, one must not overlook the praises that are often poured on American founding fathers for their ingenuity that has ensured an arrangement and control towards near perfection but now under the threat of loss. These founding fathers left behind a political process that ensures transparency and accountability in which the U.S. is a leader among equals. It is undeniably a part of the Memorial Day story. Founding fathers' manifest love for the country transformed into everyone willing to fight and lay down their lives for the country.
One may need to read about the human resources management in the country - part of the Public Administration curriculum in colleges concerning the curbing of discrimination in employment to appreciate continuous efforts towards diversity and inclusiveness. The Equal Employment Opportunity, EEO, is a law that does not require harassment of anyone or a group but has provisions through which people can formally seek redress. The law forbids discrimination based on color, sex, age, among others. The law's tentacle covers both government and private entities.
It is a manifestation of a problem that shinning cities of yesteryears have become unmanageable that leaders that should be for the protection of all are pontificating and claiming protection for a particular group against another group without a recourse to all the resources that their predecessors left in the books for guidance.
