Here's the Neighborhood! Oh look, there it goes.....

     Hey guys! This particular blog entry is going to be based on the idea of someone or something moving into a new area and establishing a change in that area. There are many examples of this occurring in history, but only a couple stand out to me. One of these is Christopher Columbus, a rather hackneyed example, who attempted at imposing Christianity on the Native Americans, unwillingly on their part. Then, there are other examples, some of which I am learning about in AP World History that take place during the Paleolithic era (for those of you who don't know what this means, it was the majority of the time Humans have been on earth, also known as the age of hunting/gathering). In this particular era, Humans migrated, populating the planet, which required them to expose themselves to new environments everywhere they went.
     One could argue that these societies represent out own modern cities and urban centers today. When the Humans in the Paleolithic era found a place to settle down and end their nomadic lifestyles, they had to adjust to their new environments and also force the new environments to adjust to them. For example, a tribe that settled down in the forests would say, "Oh, look! Here's some weird plant that I can use to cover myself AND eat! Oh, there's a weird pig-goat thing that looks tasty enough to eat! Mmmmmm! Yummy pig-goat-thingy!" This is obviously an exaggeration, but it shows how the tribes themselves would adjust to their new "neighborhoods". However, say the tribe's people like the weird plants and the yummy pig-goat animals too much, and they set controlled fire to a certain area of the forest to encourage the growing of the weird plant, and then they hunt the weird pig-goat animal to extinction. What are we left with? A completely changed environment or "neighborhood" with a thriving population of weird plants and no pig-goat thingies! This shows how, even though a newcomer may know nothing about an area or its customs, he or she can still change its lifestyle forever.
     When an extreme situation such as this takes place in our lifetime, what do the people that live in what I will refer to as "the neighborhood" try to do? In my opinion, if I were someone who had lived in a neighborhood for a while, I would try to keep our older traditions active and hope that newcomers would just slip smoothly into our rhythm and way of doing things as opposed to changing our way of life entirely. This is the best way, as it involves the least amount of discord. Though, if I was the newcomer, I don't think it would be easy for me to adjust, and I would first attempt at trying to impose my own ideas, though I would be against exactly this if I were a neighborhood native. However, not everyone has this mindset. Thus, as we live in an imperfect world, there is bound to be a case where the newcomer would try to impose his or her mindset on the neighborhood somewhere. What do you think? What would you do if you lived in the neighborhood? What about if you were the newcomer? Leave me a comment! I can't wait to hear your responses!
     Well, it's getting to be that hour again! I must go, but you'll hear from me soon!
A Presto,
Simon