COOL DADDY by Marilynne and Talik Eichinger
Get with it Man!
The Spinning World Makes Me Dizzy
When my son was in his 12th year we went to a wallpaper store to choose a design that reflected his move to teenager. He selected a room sized map of the world, a great choice in that it is still used by the family. Whenever we plan to travel, the first stop is my son’s bedroom to locate the site of our current interest. Each time I study the map, I am surprised at just how much the world has changed since his room was papered. Boundaries have moved and countries have new names. The Soviet Union has been replaced by a great many sovereign nations. I have to remember that Burma is Myanmar and Bombay is now Mumbai. The only comforting feature is the mountains and valleys that remain topographically in place.
As I travel internationally, I am immediately aware that the last 20 years have brought great changes to every country. Some are newly embroiled in war and I can not possibly consider a visit. Others, like London and Paris, have become exorbitantly expensive for middle class tourists. The beaches in Thailand are still recovering from their massive tidal wave, and Cuba is preparing to accept more visitors as a result of loosening sanctions. Cell phones permit internet searches for restaurants and tourists sites, international banking is conveniently conducted at ATM machines, and GPA tracking is a fantastic convenience for travelers.
So . . . how does one keep up with rapid change so as not to be caught in a time warp? Technology continues to have impact at home, but little is mentioned in the news about vast changes abroad. Did you know that warming trends are negatively affecting coffee growth in Sierra Leone, thereby increasing coffee prices in the US? . . . that you can walk into excavated tunnels under the DMV in Korea to see how the North secretly planned to invade the south? . . . or that land in Burma is being sold off cheaply to developers under the guise of democratic change, and the poor are being displaced?
Remember the idiom “Nature abhors a vacuum?” Well, when I was an anthropology student I was taught that if a poor overpopulated country is located near a wealthier one, those living in poverty will push their boundaries and move into the country with greater resources. We see this happening daily with waves of immigrants sneaking over the border. There may be civil laws to prevent that migration, but the laws of nature will always win. The desire to survive is so great, that people will do whatever they need to do to feed their families. When considering immigration issues, I think about this instinctual push for better pastures that has gone on throughout the history of mankind. Population movements effect our lives and must be paid attention to as much as the latest iPad.
Changing long held prejudices is difficult and requires a willingness to seek out current information and shift beliefs accordingly. Staying in tune with the times means continuous investigations and challenges to a mind that wants to stay comfortable in its old ways. Yet, changing your outlook with the spinning world should not be more difficult than learning how to use Skype or the latest app.
I am a good example of a person who early-on resisted working with computers. I made sure they were used at work, but had other people operating them. That was a bad decision. Now I realize that staying abreast of technology is a requirement for living fully. And staying abreast of the world’s social and political landscape is also a must at any age.
It is fun to ride on this dizzy, spinning world! I am as curious as can be to see what happens next. My only regret is that I can not return to earth in 200 years to observe the changes. Do you think the Middle East will still be in chaos, or the oceans flooding coastal lands as predicted?
Art Work is for Sale: Go to eichingerfineart.com for complete description.
For more information go to: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/02/what-is-really-happening-in-burma-today/ about Myamar today.
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-10-years-on-lessons-of-asian-tsunami-hit-by-disaster-amnesia-2014-12 about Thailand ten years after the tsunami.
COOL DADDY by Marilynne and Talik Eichinger
Get with it Man!
The Spinning World Makes Me Dizzy
When my son was in his 12th year we went to a wallpaper store to choose a design that reflected his move to teenager. He selected a room sized map of the world, a great choice in that it is still used by the family. Whenever we plan to travel, the first stop is my son’s bedroom to locate the site of our current interest. Each time I study the map, I am surprised at just how much the world has changed since his room was papered. Boundaries have moved and countries have new names. The Soviet Union has been replaced by a great many sovereign nations. I have to remember that Burma is Myanmar and Bombay is now Mumbai. The only comforting feature is the mountains and valleys that remain topographically in place.
As I travel internationally, I am immediately aware that the last 20 years have brought great changes to every country. Some are newly embroiled in war and I can not possibly consider a visit. Others, like London and Paris, have become exorbitantly expensive for middle class tourists. The beaches in Thailand are still recovering from their massive tidal wave, and Cuba is preparing to accept more visitors as a result of loosening sanctions. Cell phones permit internet searches for restaurants and tourists sites, international banking is conveniently conducted at ATM machines, and GPA tracking is a fantastic convenience for travelers.
So . . . how does one keep up with rapid change so as not to be caught in a time warp? Technology continues to have impact at home, but little is mentioned in the news about vast changes abroad. Did you know that warming trends are negatively affecting coffee growth in Sierra Leone, thereby increasing coffee prices in the US? . . . that you can walk into excavated tunnels under the DMV in Korea to see how the North secretly planned to invade the south? . . . or that land in Burma is being sold off cheaply to developers under the guise of democratic change, and the poor are being displaced?
Remember the idiom “Nature abhors a vacuum?” Well, when I was an anthropology student I was taught that if a poor overpopulated country is located near a wealthier one, those living in poverty will push their boundaries and move into the country with greater resources. We see this happening daily with waves of immigrants sneaking over the border. There may be civil laws to prevent that migration, but the laws of nature will always win. The desire to survive is so great, that people will do whatever they need to do to feed their families. When considering immigration issues, I think about this instinctual push for better pastures that has gone on throughout the history of mankind. Population movements effect our lives and must be paid attention to as much as the latest iPad.
Changing long held prejudices is difficult and requires a willingness to seek out current information and shift beliefs accordingly. Staying in tune with the times means continuous investigations and challenges to a mind that wants to stay comfortable in its old ways. Yet, changing your outlook with the spinning world should not be more difficult than learning how to use Skype or the latest app.
I am a good example of a person who early-on resisted working with computers. I made sure they were used at work, but had other people operating them. That was a bad decision. Now I realize that staying abreast of technology is a requirement for living fully. And staying abreast of the world’s social and political landscape is also a must at any age.
It is fun to ride on this dizzy, spinning world! I am as curious as can be to see what happens next. My only regret is that I can not return to earth in 200 years to observe the changes. Do you think the Middle East will still be in chaos, or the oceans flooding coastal lands as predicted?
Art Work is for Sale: Go to eichingerfineart.com for complete description.
For more information go to: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/05/02/what-is-really-happening-in-burma-today/ about Myamar today.
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-10-years-on-lessons-of-asian-tsunami-hit-by-disaster-amnesia-2014-12 about Thailand ten years after the tsunami.