"There goes the neighborhood..." 

I think that the idea of two cultures clashing with each other is something that has been around as long as we have. As humans, I think we feel safe and comfortable with sameness and familiarity. When something, or someone,  new and different is introduced, it might seem strange or threatening.  This can lead to conflict. We have looked at several examples of this throughout history from our readings so far this year. The best example, in my opinion, is the clash of the Native Americans and the explorers from Europe. I think that the cause of this lack of harmony between the native people and the newcomers was not necessarily because they hated each other. They were such a different culture than the explorers had ever known, that the Europeans jumped to conclusions, seeing them as uncivilized, before even getting to know the native people. In this way, it wasn't really hate that caused the two societies to argue and fight, it was fear and lack of knowledge. If The new explorers had taken time to understand and learn about the native people, maybe they would have found that their values and ways of life really weren't that different after all. The story, "The General History of Virginia", relates to the "there goes the neighborhood" idea. The way John Smith describes the Native Americans is rude and demeaning, calling them "barbarians" and "savages". The settlers only saw the native people as a lesser society than theirs, one that needed to be more like them. They didn't take the time to understand or appreciate their culture. Looking back, if both sides had more of an open minded approach, and could have communicated with one another better, there could have been less violence and adversity.