There would have been no need for a book about Mexico called Distant Neighbors if we here in the US had always had a broader coverage of news and or television programming. The same holds true for what subjects were covered in our schools. These are old arguments but the urgency for us to know more and more far-ranging information is critical in a global society in which things are moving rapidly and decisions without background information to help you make a good one cannot be tolerated.
But it did not stop at that border. When I lived in Canada, I used to be chided “I’ll bet you Yank can’t name all of the Canadian provinces. We can name all of your states.” It was a point well-taken. Of course even within our borders there were unbelievable omissions. The New Yorker may have had a Paris Letter column but where was the one for, say, the southern, US?
We had exotic examinations of the native people of the South Sea Islands in the National Geographic but where were our natives? We were bombarded with TV ads to support a child in Kenya but what about a child in Mississippi? In short: We had no clear idea of who we were and we had less about others in the world. We got to know a country either by tourism or fighting a war for or against it on its territory. I once worked for a major pharmaceutical company in an area responsible for formulating new generic and product names. At hearing one I remember asking – “is that a country? Are we at war there”?
I check in with media outlets world wide such as The Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, Al Jazeera and others in China, South America and Russia to not only get a broader perspective of the world news, but to get better insight into my own country. We rarely hear about the third world countries unless there is a catastrophic event. Time was we would not even hear about those catastrophic events. But now, with an even more diverse population, we ignore that at our peril.
Brazil is taking an even larger role in the world both economically and politically. Just where and how do you track that in a way that will give you a good overview and sense of the size of the animal? Probably in one of the news outlets in the middle east where Brazil has been so active in trade and diplomacy lately. We also need to identify major South American outlets for information as well.
Granted, the New York Times or any other quasi “national” newspaper here can’t cover it all but an attempt would be nice. Our future depends on more than just US political elections. It depends on the outcome of elections in other countries aside from Afghanistan and Iraq. It depends on the less catastrophic and more of the average news coming out of one of our allies’ news services. The British budget for arms may be down. [newsmaxworld.com] They are at our side in two theaters of war. That’s important to track. We may have to pick up that slack.
In short. Our future depends on a great deal of information that gets by us. We are no longer an educated democracy. We need to put this on the fix list.
copyright On My Watch…the writings of SamHenry. Registration pending.
blackwatertown
September 1, 2010
Good point.
But when I read this: ‘When I lived in Canada, I used to be chided “I’ll bet you Yank can’t name all of the Canadian provinces. We can name all of your states.”’ I think – My God! How boring was life in Canada back then?
samhenry
September 1, 2010
Canada was a bit boring but that was the charm – Toronto was a frumpy outpost of the British Empire. Loved it. Speaking of international, My Korean student was instructing a Chinese student friend about my pepper mill. I jokingly said: Daniel, do not show the Chinese agent about that device. THAT is a state secret! I have so much fun with the two of them. Sadly haven’t been to Canada in years. Toronto is just a sprawling megalopolis now and with glass hung steel canyons like any other north American city. So sad. I miss the frump. Oh bring back the Queen’s Harris tweed suits and Liberty scarves and let’s have an old fashioned frump-in!
DarcsFalcon
September 2, 2010
There is much truth in what you’re saying. My thought is similar, but opposite in nature. I was thinking people need to focus more on local things too. I realized I don’t even know the name of my mayor. (But I do know my Senators and Gov! Thank God it’s no longer Obama, but it’s not much better.) I remember when folks knew their neighbors and communities, the teachers at their schools, the pastors and priests at the churches, even if they didn’t go there. I knew the grocers when I was a kid too. We “hermitize” so much now, and I think learning more about what goes on in our own backyards would be a good start too. 🙂 Just my thoughts.
samhenry
September 2, 2010
You make a very good point brilliant bird. But the forces that have taken us away from backyard news are the greed of the media over what sells. The media greed to keep control of all news and culture in this country (keep other programming on TV, movies from other countries, etc.) is just another facet of the same diamond. The latter is darker and more troublesome.