A Shrinking Globe

The world seems to be getting smaller. Not physically, as far as I can tell, but the distance between people seems to be shrinking as the weeks and years roll past.

It's just water

As is the case with most anything, you could look at this phenomenon as a good thing or a bad thing. I always like the glass half full approach to these kind of situations, with a healthy dose of pragmatism to make sure we're not blindsided by the undeniably bad stuff.

Hey, a half full glass!

There are some wonderful side effects of what is becoming our increasingly global village. Many of us have the opportunity to travel occasionally and visit places that are not exactly like the place we're used to living. Whether it's an hour or two away or a distant continent, we can usually get to places that are "foreign" to us. There does seem to be something in the human spirit that enjoys the sense of adventure and unexpected discoveries that come with changing our environment and interacting with people we haven't met. This seems to be much easier than it used to be.

We have amazing communication tools to enable us to connect with people we wouldn't otherwise know. Through the magic of the internet, I regularly have conversations with people in Europe, Asia, South America, even the wonderfully strange place that some call Canada. I'm kidding, eh - y'all are awesome! This seems to be much easier than it used to be.

Rapidly shrinking production cycles and shipping costs (and crypto currencies) make it seem pretty normal to expect to be able to send things around the globe and have them arrive quickly. Seems...easier.

Um, no: half empty!

That all sounds great, I'm glad you enjoy it. None for me, thanks. You kids get off my lawn!

The problem with all of this is that we now have to compete for resources with every human on the planet. I liked it better when I had what was mine, and life was predictable.

I'm used to having a lot of space, actual physical room to move around. Every time we start talking about this stuff I think of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer had people sleeping in a chest of drawers he rented out. And the worst part is they seemed happy about it. That's not a frame of mind I can ever get comfortable with.

Crazy people seem to show up out of nowhere and want to destroy things. Harming people I care about and taking my property is not something I'm cool with.

Options?

It seems pretty obvious to see this dynamic at play, without having to look very far. From big picture macro level stuff like national and global politics, to impassioned arguments about STEEM reward pool allocation (or, god help us, getting flagged), to local school board elections, there seems to be no end of the ways we humans can find to get bent out of shape and insult one another.

In a way, this seems to be a natural thing. A part of each one of us (I think) wants to work together and get along. Another part is mostly hostile about being treated unfairly. Personally, I find it easier to just accept the fact that life is not "fair" and it's not supposed to be. Some things suck. Good things happen. Bad things happen. Rarely does that stuff align perfectly with how much someone "deserved" what they ultimately got.

The thing is, we all have a simple choice to make, and we have to make it hundreds of times in a normal day. Should you immediately assume the worst about someone's motives and intent at the slightest hint of something you disagree with, or should you try to listen and understand where the person is coming from? For me, even with people I disagree with, maybe even especially then, I find it very useful to listen. Some people sort of do this, listening only so far as to find the next thing to flip out about. Don't be that person. Seek to understand other people. Let's work together and build a world that we all want to live in.

The more the world shrinks, the closer we are to each other. We really need to do a better job getting along if any of us expect to survive.

...obligatory copyright police note: images in this post are cc0 licensed at pixabay.com