Beyond Milieu, Essay Example

The concept of sociology enables us to see beyond our own normal lives and obtain a wider understanding of the ‘bigger picture’.  In this way we obtain a firmer grasp of social interdependence and the way in which people’s lives are intertwined, both within our own social groupings and around the globe.  We start to think beyond ourselves.

In today’s modern society it is important to retain a global perspective because the world has become much more harmonized in terms of trading, communications, cultural understanding, social awareness and the need to work within an integrated holistic society i.e. the global village concept.  We have become much more reliant upon one another for our very survival and the future survival of our world. If we consider the concept of a pandemic disease – this may start in a remote part of the world in a poor third world nation, nevertheless with advancements in global travel arrangements it would have the ability to threaten the global population i.e. become a global pandemic killing millions of people.  As such we have a vested interest to ensure all countries have adequate health protection, hygiene and access to modern technology.  The lack of birth control in Africa has widened the AIDS epidemic such that it’s started to enter the gene pool i.e. passed on from mother to child.  Although primarily confined to Africa the disease itself is a social one and as such a concern of us all.

Modern communications and graphic representation of reported news means that we now receive global news transported direct to our homes.  The recent floods and the plight of the people in Pakistan; the devastating results of the Earthquake in Haiti are examples of how the media brings social integration directly into our lives. We realise that we might equally be the future victims of a disaster and this promotes fund raising to facilitate relief, beyond that of normal government aid and response.  There are also various charities like Medicine without Frontiers that think beyond their needs and go into hazardous areas in order to provide front-line aid and support; sometimes at the cost of their own lives – the tragic death of the young English Doctor in Afghanistan.