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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Philosopher who wrote (5790)	1/16/2004 11:56:41 AM
From: zonder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

Oh dear Lord. Those [who have travelled much] are the people who cause and fight wars, plunder natural resources of other countries, bring smallpox and other diseases to wipe out native populations, smash national monuments, impose gunboat diplomacy on peaceful villages, tell lies in embassies all over the world, and in general cause far more than their share of the misery in the world. You don't realize, do you, that "people who have travelled" means those who have visited other lands with an interest to see and experience their unique values, lived in those places and experienced their different ways of life. It does not mean lying diplomats nor invading soldiers. And it certainly does not mean people "smashing national monuments" (What on earth are you talking about???) Although we live in the information age, when photos as well as written words are zipped across the globe at our convenience, there is still no substitute to experiencing with one's own senses. You can never know something well as long as your understanding of it depends on other people's accounts. Travelling gives people invaluable first-hand experiences about different cultures and their ways of life. In short, if you don't get out of your ZIP code, that little area all you will ever know well. And the way of your life in that little corner of the world is what you think of as "normal". As far as is known, Shakespeare didn't travel beyond Stratford and London. Yet he had more understanding of human nature than anybody else I know of. He didn't need to travel to know all he needed to know about people. Shakespeare's lack of travel did not stain his work, because his plays talk almost entirely about basic human nature and feelings, reactions, and sufferings therein. He didn't have to travel to India to understand why Lady Macbeth would continuously wash her hands. However, if Shakespeare were to write articles passing judgement about India, he would probably be ridiculed. Think about that the next time you read a post on what to do with Iraq, written by a North American who has never even been to the Middle East.