Welcome to the Soc. 340 course blog for this semester (Spring '09). Below is a description of what I call a "get your feet wet" exercise to get your minds thinking theoretically and get you used to commenting on this blog, which you will be asked to do throughout this semester.
"Get Your Feet Wet" Exercise: In the Preface of our text, the authors refer to what they call the "forest and trees" problem (p. xxiv), which I believe should really be worded: "missing the forest for the trees." For this exercise I want each of you to post an example of this problem (which can be invented if you can't think of one you may have run across in another course or other reading or even real life) OTHER THAN one discussed by the authors in the Preface. I also want you to address the question of why this is a "problem." I am only looking for one or two paragraphs (NO dissertations). Please post your comments by next THURSDAY, FEB. 12th. This exercise is worth 4 points.
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Another example of how our society would the focus on an individual subject and look past the whole picture can be seen in the recent developments of major league baseball. Lately the focus of the media has not been on the teams or even the sport but rather the individuals that make up the teams. This does have something to do with the illegal steroids used, that have been recently brought up, but as a whole the focus of the media tends to be on individual players and then aspects of their individuals life rather than their performance or teams performance.
This focus is a problem because it takes away from the game and the others involved. Their is much more to major league baseball than just the few select players.When focusing on jsut a few players, people lose site of what the game is all about and the people that support it.
An example of “missing the forest for the trees” is evident in our health care systems. Bureaucracy, paper work, insurance, and regulations have excelled as the main focus of health care. When a sick person enters a doctor’s office, even in some cases an emergency room, they are first made to fill out a stack of papers and provide a proper proof of insurance before they can receive any care. The system of health care has shifted focus from the individual to regulations, completely overlooking its primary mission of helping people. In a large government there are some formalities that must be followed, but refusing health care based on these premises seems to be stretching this idea. Modern health care advances have come a long way; they should not be refused to people based on paper work.
An example of missing the forest for the trees can often be seen when people take vacations to get away or escape their everyday routines. The purpose of taking a vacation is to relax, yet people get hung up on details like where to eat, stay, shop etc. They even create detailed itineraries which ruins any chance of real relaxation because holding true to an itinerary is similar to running on schedule according to school or work. The forest, or big picture in this case, would be the true purpose of a vacation-relaxation and peace of mind. The trees would be minute and irritating details like activities and budgets. This is a problem because missing the big picture is like missing the point. Coming away from a vacation like I mentioned above, would make you feel like you didn't get any relaxation at all, and the vacation in a sense would be useless.
A good example of how our society misses the forest for the trees can be seen when we base a person's character on one occurrence. If a person was to make one mistake we tend to base our opinion of that person on that incident. no matter how mant good deeds a person has done, it takes one bad deed to erase everything. once someone is labeled in this way the people they encounter do not take the time to get to know them as a person but instead base their judgement on a past occurence. the forest in this case would be the person's true character and personality which is missed because we look at, in this case, th tree, or one unfortunate time in that person;s life.
The wedding industry is huge. People can spend tens of thousands of dollars on a wedding. The event is planned for months, even years. Jobs are fully devoted to wedding planning. I think brides (and grooms) can get so caught up in the planning of everything that goes into the wedding that they can miss what it really important. The wedding is a celebration of the marriage of two people, but often there is so much time and effort spent planning the invitations, flowers, dresses, food, etc. that the real meaning of the day gets lost. This is an example of "missing the forest for the trees" because the real marriage celebration is often missed because of all of the details that are focused on. I've heard of couples who have gotten married and said that the entire day was a "blur." Too many distractions took away from the meaning of the event. The forest was missed for the trees.
This might be a stretch but I was thinking about the performance industry as a forest where the importance is the quality of the performance and the enjoyment that it provides for the audience. Unfortunately, and due to our own strange fascinations, performances are often critiqued according to the performer and more precisely, every little thing about the performer. What do they look like, are they the right weight, what extracurricular activities do they partake in, and who do they spend their time with? This obsession with the "trees" can get pretty dark and deep and as the audience, we truly lose the meaning in the performances we see.
This tendency is a problem because too much focus on the details, like the clothes and looks of the performer, causes us to miss the grandeur and skill in the performance. This intimate focus makes us miss out on something we should be seeing as, in this case, a great industry there for our pleasure.
I have seen examples of missing the forest for the trees in the banning of books such as Harry Potter and Huckleberry Finn. While Rowling’s book sometimes faces allegations of promoting witchcraft, Twain’s Finn has much opposition due to its diction, especially because of one particular word. However, what escapes the people who call for the banning of these books are the actual content and context of the books, and also what they could do for readers. Not only does Finn address a place and time in which the diction is expected, but the book also provides one of the first positive American fiction depictions of an African American. Furthermore, Potter continues to inspire many people, including children and their parents, to read who may not have otherwise without its presence in the market.
According to the "forest and trees" problem individuals tend to miss the more important or underlying meanings. An xample of this that comes to mind is within the entertainment industry. Many talented individuals become caught up in the material things an benefits of the lucrative entertainment business. Rather than inspiring others and practicing what they love, they become absorbed the perks. For example, some performers or athletes would pass up the opportunity to play or perform at certain events simply because they may not be getting paid enough.
An example of people missing the forest or the trees occurs around people are religious. They will focus on all the rituals and traditions making sure each is completed ever so precisely. While they will completely miss the reasons that the rituals or traditons take place. Another place I have seen this in religion lately is a form of bible study that takes each verse one at a time often only one a day. WHile you can draw alot out of each verse often you miss the larger context and meaning of the story. Also by focusing so intently on just one part you tend to draw your own conclusions rather then that of what the story itself actually says. I understand that often attention to detail can be important, but more importantly and rewarding is a balanced depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding I believe.
Another example of missing the forest for the trees is seen even through something as little as household chores. For example, when a person is pressed for time and his goal is to clean all of the dishes, a pan that needs extra work can hinder the accomplishment of the overall goal. If too much time is spent on that one, extra dirty dish, then the rest of the dishes will not be clean. Therefore, the dishwasher let one dish dictate the outcome of his primary goal, which is to have all of the dishes clean in a certain amount of time.
An example of "missing the forest for the trees" can be seen literally in the forest. Occasionally, it happens that an environmentalist will become so focused on preserving one specific species of plant or animal that they will forget that their overall goal should be to ensure a generally healthy environment. This is a problem because when someone becomes so focused on the "trees" they can't see what they are doing to the "forest" and instead of helping may actually end up damaging things. It is important to work with the "trees" while keeping an eye on the "forest" as well.
An example of missing the forest for the trees is evident in racism. Racist people make up the trees and racism as a whole is an example of the forest. People tend to want to focus on racist people but that is not going to eliminate the ideals of racism. The ‘root’ of the problem lies within the practice of racism as a whole; the individual people make up the ‘trees’ in this matter. The roots of the trees connect to make up the forest therefore; racism is formed from the ideals of the racist people. People should focus more on changing the ideals of racism as a whole (forest) and versus the individual people (trees). Changing an individual is the not going to change the entire problem.
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