Surviving Globalization,Transforming Self-Interest into Enlightened Self-Interest

Times Atlas:

Africa (30.3 million km) is larger than the combination of China (9.6 million km), US (9.4 million km), Western Europe (4.9 million km), India (3.2 million km) , Argentina (2.8 million km), 3 Scandinavian countries, British Isles.

I always thought a map is a map, but apparently maps can be misleading, as it is very difficult to map out the spherical earth on to a flat surface without distorting the reality. Therefore, assuming most maps are the creation of the Eurocentrist, it comes as no surprise that reality is distorted in favor of the land masses that house "Europeans" (white people) and scale Africa down to the size of the U.S. in some cases.

Why is this important?

Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words, and maps are essentially pictures, it's very important that maps allow us to perceive the relative size of countries and continents in order to get a sense of their comparative importance.

As our world continues to shrink, we can't afford to live as if we are the only ones on the planet. We must create a new belief system based on, at the very least, enlightened self-interest. We must recognize that we benefit most when we can couple our own interests with those of the people around the globe. In some way we, the people, must truly embody collective interests, rather than buying into the illusion that we do, in order to guarantee our future.

Africa is a "gold mine" of natural resources, however, the continent is deteriorating at an alarming rate. For hundreds of years, policy makers and "big business" from developed countries, all around the world, acting in the interest of their people, have and continue to neglect, ignore and rape the continent without much thought for anyone but themselves.

Perhaps if we readjust our "mental maps" to incorporate the sheer size of Africa and its inherent value, we will start to pay more attention to the continent and start to influence our policy makers to protect what some day could be our savior.