20041111
two separate worlds
listening right now to sarah mclachlan's "world on fire." a dj on 101.9 tipped us all off that we should go online and watch her video of this song. i was really touched by the video's simplicity.
i was able to go to world youth day 2002 in toronto, and all participants are required to attend one social justice workshop. my sister and i chose one by development and peace, which at that time advocated against companies who manufacture bioengineered food (rice and corn were big then) to sell to developing - poor - countries.
d&p wanted rather that the companies fly to poor nations, learn their agricultural habits and ways, so they can add to their own ways, instead of bringing to them an unfamiliar, new technology. d&p at that time said that some countries won't take bioengineered food coz of religious and other ethical beliefs, and that needs to be recognized and respected. d&p had us sign cards and petitions to lobby government officials for the funds to send researchers to those nations, who then will hopefully liaison between the company and developing nation.
a liason between a developed and developing world would have to have a heart of steel. that person will have to live with the knowledge that a poor nation somehow keeps the rich nation rich.
knowing that there are myriads other souls who know that fact gives me assurance. if they can live with that, then i should be able to, even at great effort. mclachlan's video is a simplification of what regular people like me can do to somehow tip the balance in favor of the poor nation.
i googled "world on fire" and found this review of a book with the same title. author amy chua states that globalization and democracy themselves aren't detrimental to the nations they are offered to; it is the speed at which they are implemented that will cause those nations to tumble and fall. salon.com reviewer michelle goldberg then offers her own whittling of the entire book:
"Of course, it's not terribly likely that her recommendations are going to be implemented in most places anytime soon. In the end, "World On Fire" is valuable less for its prescriptions than for the perspective it offers on the seemingly incomprehensible violence shaking the world. With the fall of communism and the emergence of al-Qaida, it's no longer fashionable to see ethnic conflict in materialist terms -- the new battles are framed as a clash of civilizations rather than a scramble for resources. It's a scarier opposition, because it's so intractably defiant of reason. "World on Fire" suggests these conflicts might not be so primordial and irrational after all. It might be cold comfort to realize how atavistic enmities abroad have been inflamed by our own government's policies, but at least these policies can, ultimately, still be changed." [ more ]
the book is written with the point of view of the united states in mind. i think it's still worth a peep. ¶ 11/11/2004 01:53:00 AM
i was able to go to world youth day 2002 in toronto, and all participants are required to attend one social justice workshop. my sister and i chose one by development and peace, which at that time advocated against companies who manufacture bioengineered food (rice and corn were big then) to sell to developing - poor - countries.
d&p wanted rather that the companies fly to poor nations, learn their agricultural habits and ways, so they can add to their own ways, instead of bringing to them an unfamiliar, new technology. d&p at that time said that some countries won't take bioengineered food coz of religious and other ethical beliefs, and that needs to be recognized and respected. d&p had us sign cards and petitions to lobby government officials for the funds to send researchers to those nations, who then will hopefully liaison between the company and developing nation.
a liason between a developed and developing world would have to have a heart of steel. that person will have to live with the knowledge that a poor nation somehow keeps the rich nation rich.
knowing that there are myriads other souls who know that fact gives me assurance. if they can live with that, then i should be able to, even at great effort. mclachlan's video is a simplification of what regular people like me can do to somehow tip the balance in favor of the poor nation.
i googled "world on fire" and found this review of a book with the same title. author amy chua states that globalization and democracy themselves aren't detrimental to the nations they are offered to; it is the speed at which they are implemented that will cause those nations to tumble and fall. salon.com reviewer michelle goldberg then offers her own whittling of the entire book:
"Of course, it's not terribly likely that her recommendations are going to be implemented in most places anytime soon. In the end, "World On Fire" is valuable less for its prescriptions than for the perspective it offers on the seemingly incomprehensible violence shaking the world. With the fall of communism and the emergence of al-Qaida, it's no longer fashionable to see ethnic conflict in materialist terms -- the new battles are framed as a clash of civilizations rather than a scramble for resources. It's a scarier opposition, because it's so intractably defiant of reason. "World on Fire" suggests these conflicts might not be so primordial and irrational after all. It might be cold comfort to realize how atavistic enmities abroad have been inflamed by our own government's policies, but at least these policies can, ultimately, still be changed." [ more ]
the book is written with the point of view of the united states in mind. i think it's still worth a peep. ¶ 11/11/2004 01:53:00 AM
