Well there goes the Neighborhood !

America is known as the melting pot. I don’t think this statement is entirely true. America is made up of many different cultures but they don’t always blend together. Many cultures stick together because they share beliefs and views in common, yet most don’t really branch out.

I think I live in a very diverse neighborhood, but there still have been some challenges in the past that are still present and visible today.  After prohibition, when alcohol was banned in the 1920’s, each precinct in Chicago got to vote if they wanted alcohol in their precinct. This is why in Beverly the west side of Western Avenue is the “wet” side, meaning that alcohol could be served and sold. This is also why in my neighborhood all the bars are only on one side of Western Avenue. In the 1920’s all the Irish Catholics lived on the west side of Beverly, which was also the poor side. They voted to have alcohol in their neighborhood.  They believed that there was nothing wrong with it.

On the other hand, the Baptists lived on the east side, which was also the rich side, but they didn’t believe in alcohol. It was against their beliefs and the Baptists didn’t want it where they lived. This caused fights between the two groups, each fighting the others beliefs on the topic. When it all was settled, west would be the wet side and east would be the dry side where you can’t buy or serve alcohol.

Even to this day this is how my neighborhood is set up. After many decades and the mixing of the neighborhood with other ethnicities (not just Catholics and Baptists) nothing has changed.  People have tried to change it and have petitioned to add alcohol for restaurants, but it has been rejected every time. It seems that no one wants change.  This is what they know and have grown up with.

Sometimes the clashing of cultures can have positive affects and I think cultural mixing is healthy for people to grow.  Clashing is not always bad. What do you think? Would you be against alcohol or for it?