The Social Implications One's Geographical Location - Essay Example

Understanding the social implications ones geographical location and how the lives of people are molded in accordance to their environment Society isevolving and there are many changes that occur in our midst that affect the lives of people. According to Durkhiem, social phenomena arise when the interaction of individuals create a reality that can no longer be seen in the light of individual attributes. Durkhiem is of the opinion that the “determining cause of a social fact should be sought among the social facts preceding it and not among the states of the individual consciousness."(Durkhiem 1951). According to him, the characteristics of groups and structures are more important than the attributes of the individuals in a group. Durkheim strongly believes that the cohesion or the lack of cohesion of religious groups is more important than what the believers think or feel about their religion. Since the behavior of the group can strongly affect the social phenomenon of society, it is but fitting that one should always play closer attention to the characteristics manifested by the group. However, he stressed that social facts, such as moral rules are effective guides and controls of the conduct of the group if and only if these social facts are internalized by the individual members of the group. By instilling the moral standards in the members of a group, the members will now be constrained to obey rules as a moral obligation. The existing structures of society and the constraints that social factors tend to create on the individual members of the group affects the kind of lives that people may lead in a certain place. Note that any social formation be it superior or inferior to the quality of individuals that compose it, is considered a separate entity from the individuals that comprise it and therefore demands a certain that culture and social circumstances can be considered as unique to a place and to a group of people thus it very much likely that the quality of life of people will be greatly affected by where they live. A clear example of the social effects of where one lives can be seen in the case of Northern Ireland where a group of people come in constant conflict with each other. Technically, the conflict in Northern Ireland can be more easily understood if taken in the light of the opposing forces composed of the people who want Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom on the other side and the people who want to “liberate” Ireland from external controls. An overwhelming majority of the members of the group that wants the union between Ireland and the United Kingdom are Protestants. On the other hand, the people who want to establish an independent Ireland are Catholics. According to Whyte, the advantages of religion in this case are that it creates an all-inclusive phenomenon that unifies the individual goals of people (Whyte 1990). The unifying effect of religion propelled the people to define themselves by their religion and subsequently, to side of the country where they live. If you are an Irish, you are either a Catholic or a Protestant and you then you keep yourself on your side of the fence. According to Murphy, the average person in Northern Ireland is already subjected to segregation from the day they were born. He or she is raised in accordance with the myth and beliefs that his ancestors have. He or she is supposed to live a life in line with traditions and is expected to transmit such tradition to the future generation. These myths and traditions are used everyday to justify the resentment of suspicion felt by the different communnnities. (Murphy, 1978, p. 188 also cited in Hewstone et al. 2004 in www.princeton.edu ). In identifying which group a person belongs to, the Irish developed a complex means of identifying themselves including how they look, how they dress and where they live. In this particular case, their address is very important because this defines who they are and how they live in accordance to the moral obligations set forth under their religion. Durkhiem strongly believed that where “society is strongly integrated” it exerts a strong hold on individuals and subject there individuals to its firm control (Durkhiem, 1951). A religious society is one of the most closely knitted group of people and the strong moral convicts that people shared inside a religious sect is enough to create an iron-like link between them. This link between people belonging to the same sect facilitated with harmonious co-existence. The religious identification of the people and the address where they lived created two types of scenario. In the internal zones of the community, the people tend to feel more secured in the confines of their neighborhood but on the other hand, the segregation helped fuel the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in the country (Trew & Benson, 1996). Note that is Ireland, there is segregation in terms of residence, school and personal affairs between the Catholics and the Protestants which caused a strong sense of territorialism in both groups (Cairns & Hewstone, 2002). Communities that are living apart tend to go to different stores, read different papers, watch different shows etc. The cohesion of society in a given area is affected by the conditions of the place. Note that in segregated communities in Ireland, people have a homogenous belief. If you are a Protestant living in a Protestant community, you life will revolve around people that have the same ideas and beliefs that you have and you will rarely engage into a fight over religion. On the other hand, in a mixed community where Catholics and Protestants live across each other, there is greater possibility of conflict between people in the community. According to Durkhiem, where there is a high degree of collectivity in a community, higher degrees of consensus can be achieved easily as there is less behavioral deviance among them. In the recent years, there is a noted slight increase in segregation especially in terms of residence (Niens et al., 2003) especially in the urban areas like Belfast and Londonberry especially after a number of violent encounters between the Catholics and the Protestants. Segregation is seen as a way to curve violence. It is seen as a form of self-defence and a means to avoid embarrassing contacts between former friends and neighbors who are torn apart because of differences (Niens et al., 2003). The place where you leave therefore creates a sense of security thus people tend to move from the mixed community to a community where all are Protestants or Catholics. Living is a community where everyone has the safe beliefs and ideas can help a person feel safer in his or her surroundings thus he or she is freer to move around. Furthermore, being in the midst of like minded people provide more support to the people in the community. The homogeneity of beliefs and ideas in the members of community creates a mechanical solidarity. According to Durkhiem, "Solidarity which comes from likeness is at its maximum when the collective conscience completely envelops our whole conscience and coincides in all points with it." (Durkhiem, 1956) The feelings of belongingness in a community where they live create a sense of well-being in people and offer them some kind of peace. Mutual support is also very important when it comes to preventing any incidents of violence within a community. Where there is less dissent, they will be lesser likely of conflict among residents. Although the segregation of communities has favorable effects on the individual members of the community, this also produces some negative effects in terms of inter-group relationship in society. Note that the structures and norms of different sectors of society sometimes come into conflict with each other and the fact that these sectors are restricted to interact with each other could form a barrier towards understand. The residential segregation between the two groups may have fueled a sense of distrust among these groups of people. Although there are just about barely 50% of the communities that are segregated, in segregated communities restrictions are very pronounced (Poole & Doherty, 1996). If you are a Catholic, crossing the fence to say hello to your Protestant neighbor is simply unheard of (Poole & Doherty, 1996). The distrust between people in segregated communities can be seen through the sporadic violence in some specific places. Generally, people living in more depressed and crowded areas are more prone to violence and so does people who are living in closely-knitted communities that are very closed minded about their beliefs. For many years, violence erupted in the streets of Northern Ireland but the sporadic violence are mostly confined to particular areas such as the closely-knit urban and rural areas of Northern Ireland (McKittrick, Kelters, Feeney, & Thornton, 1999). The casualties of these violence events are mostly young males living in urban area especially in Belfast and the Londonderry (Morrissey & Smyth, 2002) and that most of these young people that dies in tumultuous affrays are Catholics (White 2001). The fact that most of those who are killed are Catholics, this does not really mean that Catholics are more prone to violence than the Protestant. The amount of deaths on both sides simply tells us that the place where one lives can greatly affect the amount of violence that one can be subjected to. Note that in the country side of Ireland where segregation in less pronounced than in the closely-knitted urban communities, violence is not as rampant and deaths resulting from tumultuous affrays are not as common as it is in the urban area. In most cases, the people living in the urban areas do not feel secure on the streets because anytime violence could erupt and they could become one of the casualties. The behavior of the people in a certain place is shaped by the conditions of the environment and the response of the people as group would vary depending in the situation. The presence of paramilitaries supported by some communities put terror in the streets. Para militaries are known to use violent methods of punishment and one could be beaten to death for a violation which could otherwise have been meted with a less serious punishment (Smyth and Scott, 2000). Given the threat to the lives and limbs, people who are living in high intensity zones in Northern Ireland, especially children and youth, exhibit higher degree of stress, anger, hatred and suspicion (Smyth and Scott, 2000). The general attitude of suspicion among people living in high intensity zones creates a kind of tension that is an anathema to peace. Children who belong to these high intensity areas are exposed to much violence that they tend to regard violence as a form of expression. Technically, this is what Durkhiem meant when he expressed his belief that crime has a functional purpose in society (Durkhiem 1951). He believes that crime provide some kind of a “safety value” for social discontent (Durkhiem, 1895). Crime for him is normal. In society, people tend to express their discontent not by trying to change the law but by simply violating it and make their point known. This explains why in places where there is a growing discontent, violence also rises. Consequently, the lives of the people that are caught in the midst of a rising discontent and violence are also affected. As in the case of Ireland, the quality of life deteriorates proportionally with the deterioration of the peace and order situation of the place. This deterioration of the quality of life can be clearly seen in the way people lived in fear and with limited freedom outside of the walls of their communities. Much as people would like to believe that they are free inside their own communities, the freedom that they enjoy within the confines of the walls of their communities is nothing like the freedom that they would have enjoyed had they been free to go where they would really like to go. The place where you live has a big effect in shaping the society. In the case of Ireland, the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants brought about a lot of social and economic problems. It can be noted that those who are most affected in the conflict are those who are living in depressed and more areas of the country. People who are living in poor areas suffer more. This phenomenon where the poor are more affected by the discord in society is not limited in Ireland. In Sierra Leone in Africa, civil war led by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) started when the diamond industry in the area was mismanaged and made the people in the country as one of the poorest in the world (Jalloh, 2001). Unlike in Ireland where the people fought for freedom and for that sense of belongingness in the community, the people of Sierra Leone fights for survival from hunger and diseases. Again, we witness here how society exerted a strong influence on the behavior of the people. Although not all people are into war, the fact there was a growing discontent in society triggered the war and people are swept into this event with or without their consent. Note that social structures and behavior take on properties of their own apart from the individuals that comprise it. Like in the case of Ireland, the people of Sierra Leone found a common denominator that bound them together to act in a unified manner. Unfortunately, just like what happened in Ireland, the civil was that was waged in the name of the people who are oppressed by poverty in the Sierra Leone area had taken a great toll on the quality of life of the people. Thousands of people where displaced as a result of the civil war and became refugees in different countries all over the world (Jalloh, 2001). The breakdown in the social structures of Sierra Leone opened the gates of the country to gun running, drug trafficking and other crimes against humanity. Violence and lawlessness erupted. Child soldiers were recruited in various parts of the country of Sierra Leone and trained to handle task that are normally reserved for adults who are in the military (Ayissi et. al. 2001). The breakdown in the social structures of the country allowed young children to carry firearms and go to war for a cause they probably do not even understand. This really a sad story as young lives is nipped in the bud without a single ounce of logical justification. The only plausible explanation that one can give in situations like these is that these people are victims of the turmoil of the society that they live and it was just unfortunate that they happen to be in the place when such violence and lawless erupted. Indeed, where you live help determine the kind of life that you live. If happen to live is a place where there is less incidents of discontent and crime, you will most like live a more meaningful and free life. On other hand, if you live in a place where there is great discount and discord, you will most likely be swept into the conflict even if you don’t want to be involved. References: 1. Anatole Ayissi and Robin-Edward Poulton (February, 2001). Bound to Cooperate: Conflict, Peace, and People in Sierra Leone. Stationery Office Books (with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research) 2. Cairns, E. & Hewstone, M. (2002). The impact of peacemaking in Northern Ireland on intergroup behaviour. In G. Salomon, & B. Nevo (Eds.), The nature and study of peace education (pp. 217-28). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 3. Durkheim, Emile (1895) On the Normalcy of Crime 4. Durkheim, Emile, Suicide (New York, The Free Press, 1951), p. 209. 5. Emile Durkheim, Sociology and Philosophy (New York, The Free Press, 1953) 6. Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method (New York, The Free Press, 1950) 7. Hewstone, M., Cairns, Voci, A., Paolini, S., McLernon, F., Crisp, R., & Niens, U. (2005). Intergroup Contact in a Divided Society: Challenging Segregation in Northern Ireland: Intergroup contact in a divided society: Challenging segregation in Northern Ireland. In D. Abrams, J. M. Marques, & M.A. Hogg (Eds.), The social psychology of inclusion and exclusion (pp. 265-292). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press. http://www.princeton.edu/~uchv/whatsnew/PEPA310-1.pdf 8. Jalloh, S. Balimo (2001) Conflicts, resources and social instability in Subsahara Africa – The Sierra Leone Case; in Onternationasles Afrikaforum, 37, Jg (Germany) pages 166-180 9. McKittrick, D., Kelters, S., Feeney, B., & Thornton, C. (1999). Lost lives: The stories of the men, women and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Edinburgh: Mainstream Pub. Co. Ltd. 10. Morrissey, M., & Smyth, M. (2002). Northern Ireland after the Good Friday Agreement: Victims, grievance, blame. London: Pluto Press. 11. Murphy. D (1978. A place apart. Harmondsworth: Penguin 12. Murtagh, B. (2002). The politics of territory: Policy and segregation in Northern Ireland. 13. Niens, U., Cairns, E., & Hewstone, M. (2003). Contact and conflict in Northern Ireland. In O. Hargie & D. Dickson (Eds.), Researching The Troubles: Social science perspectives on the Northern Ireland conflict (pp. 123-140). Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. 14. Poole, M., & Doherty, P. (1996). Ethnic residential segregation in Northern Ireland. Coleraine: University of Ulster. 15. Smyth, M. and Scott, M. (2001) The Youthquest 2000 survey: A report on young people’s views and experiences in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland, INCORE the Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity. 16. Trew, K., & Benson, D. (1996). Dimensions of social identity in Northern Ireland. In G.M. Breakwell & E. Lyons (Eds.), Changing European identities (pp. 123-143). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 17. White, R.W. (2001). Social and role identities and political violence. In R.D. Ashmore, L. Jussim, & D. Wilder (Eds.), Social identity. intergroup conflict, and conflict reduction (pp. 133-58). New York: Oxford University Press. 18. Whyte, J. (1986). How is the boundary maintained between the two communities in Northern Ireland? Ethnic and Racial Studies, 9, 219 – 234. 19. Whyte, J. (1990). Interpreting Northern Ireland. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Read More