I hope that back in the USA, there are still some parts of the country which provide similar senses of safety for indidividuals and crimes.

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SENSE OF SAFETY--a big fat Billfold of an Example

By Kevin Stoda

As many readers know, I live in Taiwan on the relatively secluded island of Beigan--part of the Matsu Island Chain off the coast of China (9 km. away).   Living here, I feel really safe, and when my wife and baby were here last autumn, they felt very safe too.    By a sense of safety, I am talking about the fact that one feels that there is little or no chance of crime in the neighborhoods.[1]

I had a similar sense of safety when I lived in rural Japan (Itoigawa, Niigata) in the early 1990s.   Similarly, when living in pre-9-11 UAE (in the city of Sharjah), I had felt a similar sense that chance of crime and violence was quite low.    Growing up in small towns in Kansas in the 1970s, I felt relatively safe, too.

Feeling a sense of safety means that one does things like not fearing to take a walk around town at 2am if one is not able to get sleep.   Also, one leaves doors unlocked.   One is also permitted to be very careless leaving supplies and equipment of all types outside in the open.   In the early 1980s, I recall staying in a house in North Newton, Kansas which actually had no key--the key had gotten lost years earlier and neither the renters nor owner had ever replaced it.

A great example occurred here in Ban Li Town two weeks ago when   a wallet was left on a table top in the front office at the school.   The owner, it seemed, had gone away for a long weekend.   It lay at the entrance of our school office for 5 days before the owner came back and claimed it.   Meanwhile, dozens of students and more than two dozen adults had passed by--most without giving the large black wallet a second look.

It was obvious that it was not an empty wallet.   It was bulging.

I wonder if back in the USA--such a place of safety still exists.?

NOTES

[1]   Sense of Safety in terms of medical help is a different story--where by in   the case of a major   medical emergency, one would either have to take a boat to the   neighboring larger island of Nangan or fly in a government helicopter 45 minutes to the main island of Taiwan. However, when news stories on Taiwan TV usually consist of small street accidents --instead of violent in massive doses--you can imagine that Beigan is not entirely an exception for the country.

Authors Website: http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/3-big-paradigms-hol

Authors Bio:

KEVIN STODA-has been blessed to have either traveled in or worked in nearly 100 countries on five continents over the past two and a half decades.--He sees himself as a peace educator and have been-- a promoter of good economic and social development--making-him an enemy of my homelands humongous DEFENSE SPENDING and its focus on using weapons to try and solve global issues.

"I am from Kansas so I also use the pseudonym 'Kansas' and 'alone' when I write and publish.- I-keep two blogs--one with BLOGGER and one with WORDPRESS.- My writings range from reviews to editorials or to travel observations.- I also make recommendations related to policy--having both a-strong background in teaching foreign languages and degrees in teaching in history and the social sciences.--As a Midwesterner, I also write on religion and living out ones faith whether it be as a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist perspective."

On my own home page, I also provide information for language learners and travelers http://www.geocities.com/eslkevin/-,- http://the-teacher.blogspot.com/-& http://alone.gnn.tv/

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