Downsides of city life: In the wake of the crowd

Downsides of city life: In the wake of the crowd
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Inviting yet deadly. By Kai Mester

Doesn't the city offer endless freedom and possibilities? Precisely because of the number of residents, there is nowhere else where the division of labor can be practiced as optimally as in the city. It is therefore possible to specialize entirely in what you enjoy most or what makes you the most money. The more unpleasant work, for example, can be commissioned. This leaves plenty of time for fun, games and parties, for education and culture, for fashion and luxury.

Enough like-minded people for the decline

In the city there are always enough like-minded people for my very personal inclinations and ambitions. Las Vegas, San Francisco, Hollywood, Rio de Janeiro, New York City, many cities or neighborhoods have made a name for themselves through their bohemian lifestyle. But in reality, promiscuity, crime and corruption are a distinctive feature of all big cities, as are drugs and prostitution.

The risk of exploitation

The whole competition for the greatest advantage, the greatest gain in pleasure, the most money, the highest recognition can only be successful if a broad section of society is disadvantaged. At the bottom of the success pyramid are the weak, the sick, the disabled, the poor, the exploited, mistreated, abused, often also children and women, members of certain ethnic groups, refugees and the list could go on.

No wonder the city offers an ideal breeding ground for strikes and unrest. Because at some point the measure is full and the barrel overflows. The city dweller accepts these risks. Because the diverse range of offers in the metropolises is simply too tempting: the shopping facilities, medical care, the connection to the electricity and water supply.

Of the vulnerability of the city

We see again and again how sensitive human technology is when natural disasters, acts of terrorism and wars break out in a city. The dense population of a city makes it particularly vulnerable. Terrorists can do the most damage here with relatively little effort. But even military successes can only be achieved by targeted strikes against the cities of a country.

As soon as the supply of supplies comes to a standstill in the event of a disaster, the shelves in the department stores remain empty. If the power and water supply collapses, epidemics threaten to break out and spread rapidly in cities. Nowhere is the route to the next host of the disease shorter than in the city. Hunger and thirst eventually drive people insane. Looting, robbery and murder are rampant. It is also sometimes impossible to leave a city in the event of a disaster or war.

How low can you sink?

The Bible prophesied the scenario more than 3000 years ago: »Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, which the LORD your God gave you in the siege and tribulation in which your enemy will harass. The most effeminate and spoiled man among you will then look enviously at his brother, and at his beloved wife, and at the rest of his children that he has left, so that he does not give any of his children's flesh to any of them to eat , because he has nothing left in the siege and distress with which your enemy will oppress you in all your gates. Even the most effeminate and spoiled woman among you, who is so effeminate and spoiled that she has not even tried to put the sole of her foot on the earth, she will look resentfully at her beloved husband and son and daughter and at her afterbirth, that comes out between her legs, and upon her children that she bears; for she will secretly eat them out of sheer want during the siege and distress with which your enemy will oppress you in your gates.« (Deuteronomy 5:28,53-57)

This prophecy has already been fulfilled three times in Israel's history: at the siege of Samaria in the 8th century B.C. (1 Kings 6,26:29-6), at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in the 2,20th century B.C. (Lamentations 4,10:1; XNUMX:XNUMX) and by Titus in the XNUMXst century AD.

quality of life and freedom

It should also be mentioned that noise and pollution affect the city's quality of life even in times of peace and prosperity. In addition, nowhere else are you subject to as many regulations and laws as in the city. Anyone who does not comply with all the requirements can theoretically quickly be exposed to threatening economic sanctions or even lose their right to buy completely.

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