Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Our Shrinking World is a Good Thing, Overall.

It’s human nature to sympathize or empathize with those who are more like us or live closer to us then with those who live so far away and whose religious beliefs and daily practices are often culturally anomalous to our own. Large numbers of people are killed every day in Iraq, yet that news goes in one ear and out the other; most of us seldom give it much thought.

If only we could feel the same way for the deaths that occur in other countries as we do in our own, our world would be a much better place. Intellectually, many of us do realize the tragedy it is when we read, listen or watch calamity occur in other countries, but on an emotional level, we just don't feel it like we do when we hear about something like the shooting spree that took place at Virginia Tech this week. This is true for me as I am sure it is for others.

Imagine if, every time we heard about large numbers of casualties in other countries, we felt anything close to the way we feel when something like Virginia Tech or Columbine occurs. War would only be a last resort, when all else fails; we would not be able to stomach what is going on today in Iraq.

Gradually, if our world lasts that long, we will start to feel the world is a part of our family, almost as much as our own country is. It will happen because the world is shrinking and with the click of a mouse you can be in touch with anyone from anywhere in the world and find out that, in so many ways, we are all so much alike. We all love, hate, laugh, cry, hurt, grieve and most of all hope for a better future.

0 comments:

Iraq Deaths Estimator
Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP