Things of the day
by Joan Marques
The other day I heard a journalist asserting on the news that the world has changed to its disadvantage. Prior to his proclamation, the announcer reviewed the occurrences of the past months: from September 11 to the safety precautions that have to be taken now before every major event. There is increased security everywhere, and hence, this reporter stated with a nostalgic expression on his face, that the time of innocent firework-shootings on holidays, together with a broad variety of spontaneous activities without fearful feelings, is definitely over in the United States.
Of course that's a pity. However, the phenomenon described by this journalist, has been ordinary life in too many countries in this same world for too many years before: there is simply no carefree way of living possible in numerous countries in Africa, Asia, South America, and some other continents, often as a result of the policies of the industrialized world, and frequently due to a lack of interest for these countries, because they just don't possess enough valuable assets and resources to be considered important enough, and therefore eligible for protection.
So, indeed, there has been reason enough for the U.S. to increase security within its borders since last year. However, whether this phenomenon indicates that the world has degenerated into a worse place per definition, or whether it is just a matter of an emphasis alternation of the core amount of anger on the planet to just a different location, that might be a more objective question. It has been mentioned by several authors before: the wealthy nations cannot possible continue to think that they can continue to give and take, support and neglect, push and pull, at their leisure. The fact remains that there are golden rules in existence, reigning beyond human influence.
In fact one could even argue that the world has been well on its way in the past decades, to become a better place. At least, this should be the case if current management theories prove to be successful. These theories teach us that the global workforce is increasingly in search of greater understanding and meaning in everything it does. If people really don't want to work primarily for money anymore, but much rather for satisfaction, recognition, and genuine interest in their well being, what, then, is bad about this world?
Or should we perceive the journalist's exclamation as yet another example of ordinary human bias, derived from ethnocentrism, whereby only the in-house perspective matters, only the internal ways are good, and everything is generalized from that point of view?
Oh, what am I saying? Even in that case we cannot blame ourselves, or, in this case, the aforementioned journalist. It has, after all, been proven long ago that we all have our own reality, right? That means that we are only capable of perceiving the world from our own perspective. So, maybe we can just proceed and console ourselves with the fact that our world today is not worse or better than it was yesterday. Just different. And the biggest consolation of all is, that we, each for ourselves, can contribute to make it a better place. How? You know best...from your own unique point of view!
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