The Small Town
The system of position and class which governs American life is readily noticed in the town of only a few hundred population or perhaps up to 6,000 inhabitants. Here one notices the subtle interplay of education, money, profession, club membership, and business associations that mold the social pyramid. Although the distinctions between old families and new families is breaking down, some l'esiduals remain. We still tend to put people into low, middle, and upper classes; but as one behavioral scientist put it, "Upward mobility in the community is much easier than it was back in the fifties." The distinctions between white-collar and blue-collar are breaking down. What a person can do is having more influence on onc's community position than was true a few decades ago where position was largely ascribed to him by family connections.
One thing the person has who lives in the small town, or, of course, in a rural community, is a large amount of physical space. There is little in the way of traffic congestion in gning to work. going to school, shopping, and dropping in unannounced on a neighbor. Community organizations are more on a personal basis where individual needs often tie in closely with community needs.
There are, of course, some negative aspects related to the life-style choices of being in an uncrowded community. Although space gives us more freedom of movement, and in some ways a large measure of privacy, living in a small community can change some aspects of the life-style we may prefer to live. We cannot hope for much anonymity. Our private living in Peyton Place is more open for all to see than it might otherwise be in suburbia or in the city. Choices of jobs for young people, and even for a variety of people to associate with, are often Jimited in the small town. While some people may prefer the slower-paced, more leisurely life-style of the smaller community, others may feel a need for just the opposite. In some measure effective adjustment for the individual relates to matching his understandings, skills, and desires to the opportunities which a given community provides.
