Well, my good friend Scoot is showing off his travel blogging skills. If you haven't visited, check out his site. He has a great set of photos and commentary on his boondoggle (I mean academic learning experience) to the United Kingdom. Major John over at Miserable Donuts also has some great shots and stories from his time in Afghanistan. Admittedly, not a top travel destination. Which brings me to the topic at hand. The blog as vehicle for travel, not just into other locales but other ideas.
One of the great aspects of the computer age is the ability to blur reality and the imagined. There are literally millions of people who invest a lot of their time in activities which are purely simulated (MMORPGs, extended online communities, etc.). Many of these folks have just as much commitment to the "virtual" world as the events of the real world, perhaps more. Personally, I am an adventure hog. I find some of the same mental thrills in gaming and simulation as I have found in the real world, although the lack of physical feedback is still a huge deficit (where is that holodeck, anyway? And if it existed, would we cease to exist as a society? - think the Matrix).
But I digress. What I would like to do is expand the roster of blogs represented here on the site. I have encountered a few which are worthy of linking simply due to their diversity and perspective. I am not talking about political or themed blogs, I am more interested in blogs that reflect an individual's view of the world. To me this would permit an even broader window into our rapidly shrinking world. I have two challenges, they must come recommended from readers, be real (i.e. no fabricated characters, teen drama, etc.) and reflect a personal viewpoint. If we could get some international perspective, all the better. For those who haven't, check out Big Pharaoh.
1 comment:
"I am more interested in blogs that reflect an individual's view of the world. To me this would permit an even broader window into our rapidly shrinking world"
I believe that the world is not shrinking, but we are starting to understand that we are all interconnected. It's actually always been that way -- humans believe in mostly the same things -- we simply didn't have a path which could connect us. Instead of being "us and them" (which so blatantly forged our past), we realize that 'they' are, in their own way, 'us'.
I heard a new bishop in the Anglican church say this recently on the radio, "We breathe the same air as someone in Irag...in Sudan.. in Indonesia. We breathe out, they breathe in. They breathe out, we breathe in. We are, truly, connected..."
Finally now with the invention of radio, television, planes, and WWW, we can listen to the thoughts, feelings, and activities happening across the world. We are no longer limited by propagandists who report things they want us to hear... or show us pictures that they want us to know. There's a possibility of learning the full story - we have the option to empathize and understand what happens outside of our backyards.
Joseph Campbell's books describe archetypes.. not those images we TRY to live to, but REALITY which humans ARE. These are the same in all nations. If we could understand what each culture wants and fears, and TRY to make a direction which does not prey on fears, perhaps we can all "get along". Certainly it will change the world economy (economy is driven by fear), but maybe that's exactly what is needed.
Yes, I'm talking about Iraq. Iran. Pakistan. Rwanda. USA. If we could truly look at our global neighbors (and communal improvement) with the same global-community-wonder that people like Scott travel-blog, the world would be in a much better place. If we could get away from our greed (Ken Lay was a great example of greed) and understand that all people all just want to survive and be happy, maybe we'd give leeway to communing with our neighbors instead of plotting against them.
There are confused innocent bystanders (civilians) in Iraq just trying to pray and eat. They don't know about the "ethnic cleansing" or the oil wars or the political chess games. They are the same as people in the Appalachians just trying to live lives.
I was listening to a friend's [philosophical] CD last night. In his speaking he said, "all activity is based on two things: love or fear. In actuality, the fear is based on losing love". This can be said for the fundie extremists everywhere (ie: needing to please God or Allah or whatever their belief, for fear of losing the deity's love), as well as the money-greedy people (fear of not having money to throw around as before)... think of this: why would already-insanely rich people want MORE money unless they were scared of not having what they already have? They don't have love; they have THINGS.
That's my soapbox. I am tired of wars based on greed.
I believe in what Scott (and other travel bloggers) is doing: learning about the world, discovering that although certain details of living may be foreign, they have been born from the human desire to live, love, and create.
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