Ever felt a longing for a place you’ve never visited? Or perhaps you love the sound of a language that you don’t even know how to speak? Maybe you’ve made friends with people from different walks of life in different parts of the globe regardless of upbringing and culture?
I bet plenty of you said “Yes” (especially the bloggers) and one thing I’ve really enjoyed about blogging is the chance to connect with people all over the world. One of my all time favorite authors, Lawrence Durrell, was born in India of partial Irish heritage, schooled in England, and lived much of his life in places like Greece and Egypt, but when asked about his nationality he always referred to himself as “cosmopolitan” because he believed firmly that all people across the earth were united by their common humanity first and that things like national citizenship came in at a distant second. I’m of course proud to come from where I do, but nonetheless, I share some of this sentiment and prefer to view humanity as a single family rather than a collection of separate nation-states.
I’m not trying to get political here, but merely touching on the personal aspect of connecting with over a hundred of you great readers now and wondered how many of you see yourself compared to the rest of humanity. Do you view the human race more as a single mass or do you think that country/tribal designations still describe us better? Don’t fret, there’s no right answer…I’m just curious what others think.
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteAn interesting post. Until we came to Budapest we had never spent any extended period in any other country than the UK. What now strikes us are the many, often significant cultural differences which exist and play an important role in everyday life. Whilst recognising the common bonds of humanity which do, we believe, tie us all together, there are nevertheless so many cutural practices that, unless paid attention to, can cause offence or complete social breakdown.
We too, like you, love the opportunities for travel that the Blogosphere affords and the connections across the globe which can be forged without leaving the armchair!!
A nice and interesting post. Enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteGreat post :) I generally think we are all just different flavors of the same basic thing - or to get totally cheesey, you can think of the world as a huge library, full of books...basically the same thing, except we come in all sorts of different genres ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've never been out of the country (yet) but I have had the pleasure of living in several places with extremely diverse populations. At school in Hawaii especially, I met people from all over the world. I loved learning about different countries and cultures, even picked up the basics of a few new languages.
And being online has afforded me similar opportunities. Hopefully one day soon I can meet some of these amazing friends in person :)
I love that our similarities give us some common ground while our unique cultures give us fascinating differences. What a boring world this would be if we were all alike :)
Excellent thoughts, Mark. As for your question, I think we're all equal parts of the same whole. A thriving organism, if you will, that's still learning how to function more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I love about the internet. Even with its seedy underbelly it really is the best invention ever. Everyday I talk to people all over the globe...and consider them friends. It's amazing. Maybe it's cliche, but we really do have more in common with others than we think we do.
ReplyDeleteI have started travelling a few years ago and I found that wherever I go, we're all the same. We wear different clothes, our skin color is not the same and we don't pray to the same God, but it's superficial. We all want a small place in the sun and not too much conflict in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI've lived in several different countries and the common theme is we are all people. I believe God sees us all as His children. We should see one another as brothers and sisters.
ReplyDeleteI suppose many of us have the same experiences, no matter where we hail from. Humans like to compartmentalize, which I suppose helps us keeps things organized in our minds, but there's the danger of stereotyping. I'm Jamaican and proud of it, but I cringe a little when I think about the few who give the majority a bad name.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, Gerald Durrell, brother to Lawrence, is one of my favourite writers.
I have always been amazed by how much remained the same, across cultures and lives. I do think there are notable differences between the "New World" countries and some of the older cultures. Not for better or for worse, not like that. Just different.
ReplyDeleteOur physical experiences must be different, I think, depending on where we live and the path we have chosen to take through life. But emotionally, I think we are very much the same in every country. Love, fear, birth, death, problems, solutions--a beautiful song or a brilliant book. We can all relate. We're all soul mates of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think the culture/tribal designations influence certain behaviors - the norms, mores, and customs of a geographical area. But, if you strip all that away, we are the same. Language, traditions, and behaviors are cultural.
ReplyDeleteI love this point of view. Often when I'm asked where I come from I just tell people "Earth." Society tends to place so much focus on nationality and differences. If we saw ourselves as merely portions of the same starstuff instead of separate entities maybe all those difficult decisions would become so much more simpler.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and awesome comments, I agree with you all!
ReplyDeleteThere is an inherent danger in separating ourselves into groups, whether by country, tribe, church, or shoe brand. It's divisive, exclusionary, and worst of all, it creates fear. We are a single family, and as a family, it is our responsibility to respect, understand, and learn from family members rather than try to eradicate and homogenize our differences.
ReplyDeleteMark..I loved this post. You have captured the thought so beautifully. Blogging has connected us (writers) in such a wonderful way. We are there for each other, sharing good publishing news and sighing over the rejections.
ReplyDeleteJane/Lance – Good point about the cultural practices, I sometimes think most misunderstandings in the world result from cultural miscommunication. The more we learn of each other, the better I think:)
ReplyDeleteLanga – Thanks for stopping by:)
Michelle – Of course, I do like the library analogy! Online communication definitely fosters the idea of a global community.
David – Thriving organism indeed, I think the way everyone goes about efficiency may be what's taking us all so long;)
L.G. - Yup! You remind me of a psych study I hear once where people were more successful if they cooperated than if they distrusted their supposed “opponents.” Food for thought.
Alex – Amen!
J.L. - Awesome, got to love all the Durrell brothers! I was just in Jamaica earlier this year and met some really cool people there...glad to know one more:)
Shopgirl – True there are differences between “old” and “new” world perspectives, but I find that a lot of that depends upon one's point of view.
Valentia – Interesting point about how our physical paths lead us to different experiences. I suppose that's what causes the difference, but also results in the most interesting combinations.
Paul – Definitely agree.
Laila - “Earth” is a good answer. And we are literally made of stardust (just ask anyone in Science), good point!
Jeff – Groovy, rock on:)
VR – I agree, fear is sometimes used to separate groups that really have much in common.
Rachna – I think you've cut to the heart of it...we def need a place for writers to celebrate their trumphs and be consoled in their defeats. Great insight!
The more I've traveled, I see that humankind has much in common across cultural boundaries; even so, we are defined by our differences instead of our similarities.
ReplyDeleteI've travelled quite extensively and the one thing that I learned is that no matter what language we speak, we are all the same.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting post. I'm American, but I've lived in 3 countries (South Korea, Philippines, and West Germany back when there were two of them). I've visited 3 others (Japan, China (only Hong Kong), and Ireland). Traveling in another country very much changes the way we view the world, especially if we're there long enough to really see the differences ... and the similarities. Sometimes the differences can overwhelm us and give us culture shock. But our basic humanity is the same.
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