Quote:
Originally Posted by alemorkam
What do you think?
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Of course we live in a Bubble, in a Dome, in a sort of slightly-gilded ghetto (intending the original meaning of the term—a neighborhood where people share certain attributes, such as social level, or assumptions, or beliefs).
I read the online crime sheet every morning, and I almost never see crimes by villagers reported, apart from the occasional child of a resident who is using drugs or a DUI or sometimes abuse of one’s partner. There are cases of shoplifting in stores surrounding The Villages, but most of those doing it don’t live here. So this is a bubble that is essentially crime free—and illegal drug free.
We live surrounded by beauty, order, friendliness. We aren’t crowded. Most of us have little experience of life in, say, Brooklyn or the Bronx or south Chicago. For us, a protest march or a rally happens in golf carts with placards and smiles on our faces as we cheer on our friends, not with bitter speeches and destruction of property. That’s a bubble.
We live in a Bubble ethnically very different from the surrounding towns and cities. Many of us (including me) appreciate that. We like people to not look too different. Those who ARE of different ethnicities are very welcome because they can afford to live here, so they are one of us.
We live in a Bubble where—unlike America in general—there are hardly any children or even young people, unless they are here to serve us. The corollary is that in this Bubble, nearly everyone is old, even if we don’t always act our age. In a number of ways, we really don’t look like America in general. We love our country, but choose to live in a large enclave that is somewhat different from much of it.
We live in a Bubble where we can drive most places in little golf carts. We expect free entertainment in the town squares. (Yes, I know we pay for that.) We expect manicured golf courses and pristine swimming pools. We expect dog owners to leash their dogs and pick up after them. We expect all lawns to be mowed and all weeds to be pulled, and if we don’t get it, we complain. We can go to recreation centers and join clubs and easily make friends. This isn’t the real world. It’s life in the Bubble. Sometimes we forget this isn’t the real world.
But we are in this Bubble because we WANT to be, and we PAY to be. We could all buy homes of familiar sizes and quality in some surrounding town or city for HALF what we pay here. We are HERE and PAY to be here because we LOVE the Bubble, even if some people complain about their little peeves. They are free to move, but most stay. After all, where is it better and safer?
My favorite place to vacation is Hidden Beach Resort, an hour south of Cancun. Travel and one week there costs me what two months here costs me, including my large mortgage. Hidden Beach has 42 rooms. 84 guests. To get there an Escalade ferries me down a highway past armed guards. I’m not allowed near the resort without being checked for a reservation. The resort is behind high walls. Once there, I can lie in the shade on the beach and a servant brings me a drink whenever I want one. Delicious meals are provided by servants who remember my name from year to year. My room is cleaned, my bed made, by little Mayan women who are servants. I live like a king for a week. But of course it’s a Bubble. It’s not really Mexico. I see a little of Mexico from the highway on the way to and from the airport. It’s as much as I care to see. I’m surrounded by delightful Mexicans, but they are there to serve me. It’s a Bubble of peace and safety. It’s no more Mexico than the rides and sights at Disneyworld are Europe, or a mountain, or an enchanted tiki forest, Or a small world, or Pirates of the Caribbean, or a ride on a jungle river. It’s a Bubble. Disneyworld is a Bubble. The Villages is a Bubble.
I really like this particular Bubble, though. Let’s keep it that way!