One of the books I’m reading these days is The Medieval World written by German historian Friedrich Heer and published in 1961.

After almost 65 years it is still one of the world’s very best overviews of medieval history. It covers all the major topics; economics, religion, agriculture, the class system and others.

In his first chapter, Heer frames his time period as the years between 1100 and 1350. He notes that at the start of the period western and central Europe were gaining back some of the knowledge lost in the Dark Ages through new contacts with the Byzantine Empire, Islamics, and even China under the journey of Marco Polo.

Something changed during the time period. European society became much more closed. The class system became rigid, with little room for advancement.

Peasants became more oppressed, gradually losing their freedoms to subsist on the land. Their defenders favored the “good old law”, which guaranteed every man certain freedoms and protections.

I was struck by the similarities of Heer’s time period to modern society almost 800 years later. I believe people are very often closing themselves off to the world around them, staying within the daily routine and with their own small groups of friends.

It’s became very rare for strangers to strike up conversations in waiting rooms, checkout lines, or airports. One of the main reasons is that so many people are glued to their phones.

They’re probably doing a Google search about something pointless or talking to relatives or close friends. The problem with that is how they’re closing the door to random interaction. They’re giving up opportunities to maybe make new friends.

It was different in the early to mid 20th century. Then neighbors talked to each other more often. People saw familiar faces in local stores.

Several different trends eroded those traditions in the late 20th century. One factor was urbanization. People usually commute to work, shop in big stores and cocoon in their homes on evenings and weekends.

When they socialize it’s usually with similar people. Parents and kids usually associate with other young families. Senior citizens usually associate with other seniors. Sports league enthusiasts associate with people in their leagues.

They often never talk to their neighbors. They socialize with most co-workers only at office parties, maybe once in a while for lunch.

The comic strip Dennis the Menace symbolizes the difference between then and now because of the relationship of Dennis to his senior citizen neighbor Mr. Wilson.

Dennis bugged Mr. Wilson, who just wanted peace and quiet. In the end, however, I bet Mr Wilson came to like Dennis. He and his wife probably gave Dennis a really nice high school graduation present.

That probably wouldn’t happen today. They just wouldn’t interact. They’d avoid each other, each one going about their own business and staying out of each other’s way.

At the same time, the Internet has not brought people together like its creators envisioned. In the 1990s it was called the Information Superhighway. It promised to connect like minded people from throughout the world and greatly widen social circles. It was going to turn into a “Global Village”.

Traditionally we had family, the church and the community. In the 21st century many people don’t have those things as traditional anchors. Nothing has taken their place.

It could always change Eventually life began to change in Europe with the Renaissance and the Reformation. It didn’t accelerate until the Industrial Revolution, almost 500 years after the height of the medieval time period.

Hopefully it wouldn’t take as long for modern society to open up. I found out last summer that my sister and her family and their neighbors in a west Omaha subdivision held a block party. That gives me hope. It shows that most people still want to connect. They’re still willing to reach out. They still want a sense of community.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent