Global Perspective – Wild Photos

The world has grown smaller in recent years; not physically of course, but in metaphorical sense our access to the wider world in today’s society is unparalleled. Our great grandparent’s generation couldn’t imagine talking on a device that could instantly connect you to the voice of another person miles away.

Our grandparent´s generation would have though it heresy to think that we could fly around the world in only a couple of hours’ time. Even our parents, only one generation removed couldn’t have predicted the instant access to events and realities around the world that has come with the age of the internet.

Despite being ever more connected, mobile, and globally-informed, our current society is unfortunately mired in a selfish, individualistic, and claustrophobic mindset. Though we may read about the plight of refugees around the world, we find ourselves unable to feel empathy. Though we hear the statistics on global warming and coming climate change, very few of us actually do anything to actually change our ingrained habits and way of life that contribute to this phenomenon.

Our ability to travel the world and see new sights is a unique privilege of our generation, but despite our travels very few of us ever experience the particularities of a different culture. At the same time, our mobility has pulled us away from any sort of connection to a real and tangible place.

While we might feel that reading the “world” section of our local newspaper is equivalent to developing a global perspective, truly understanding the distinctiveness of our great world takes effort and determination.

Understanding the complexities of our world and how our lives and livelihoods fit in to and effect this complexity is undoubtedly important. Developing empathy for the plight of others and learning how to “think globally and act locally” are more difficult, but are also essential tenets of truly developing a global perspective.