I have been writing on Substack for 3 years now. It is hard to believe. I thought I would take a break from politicks with this post. And now that I go back and read it, I can’t seem to keep myself from politicks. Sheesh. It is everywhere…like a crust that envelopes all of The Things, right down to the food we eat.
Watching A Little Princess with my daughter and my granddaughters opened the door to a thought process which took me around the world, as it was in 1914.
The world…darkest Africa, exotic India, Persia; just these names conjure up scenes in our mind of unexplored jungles and strange lands unseen by Western eyes; stalls of merchants hawking rare spices and carpets, the culture of India, with elephants used for transport, taking armies from one spot to another. Just the imagery is breathtaking, if you can get your imagination to cooperate.
Each continent and every country within were unique. They were not ‘polluted’ by a blanket of homogeneous influence. Traveling in the 80’s was amazing. Here is a picture of me and a guy who wanted to buy me for 20 cows. Legit…Hubs took the photo. Kenya 1987
Up until the latter half of the 19th century there has been the unexplored, the unexplained, the untouched. Then: enter MAN and all the lightening fast “progress”. But is it really progress? Man has lived in the same realm of existence up until the industrial revolution. Then…bam! Progress happened all at once, from railroads to the telegraph and telephone, radio, mechanization, ground breaking finds about how sanitation can keep people healthy, television, air travel, outer space exploration, the launch of satellites into orbit..and the list goes on.
This progress includes the internet, which is either the best or the worst thing that has happened to the world. Gone are the little discoveries of a special place you found on your honeymoon or that one of a kind store full of rare books. It is now crowded and and ruined thanks to the big mouth of the internet.
I still have a passport full of stamps from the individual countries in Europe. France, Switzerland, Austria, West Germany, Luxemborg, Italy, Holland, Belgium. I remember when you had to get francs, marks, lire or pesos at banks before you could buy anything after crossing a border. You know, the kind with the mechanical arm that would separate one country from another? And nobody took credit cards.
The EU has stolen the individuality of each member nation. NATO is fostering “sameness”. I believe they are evil, but that is for another time.
Today’s travelers want to land in Namibia and eat at McDonald’s. There is no more adventure. The unknown of trying new foods and experiencing a totally different culture is gone. It is nearly impossible because the individuality of nations is being stolen and replaced by one world.
How absolutely dull! How predictably sedentary to always have the answer to any question at our fingertips. We say “I wonder….” and promptly pick up our phones to find out the answer to our question. Gone are the days of going to the library or tackling questions with a set of World Book encyclopedias.
You can go almost anywhere on the African continent and easily find a Kentucky Fried Chicken. I kid you not. KFC. Thanks Colonel Sanders.
Is America Back?
The American statues that were torn down are slowly being replaced or repaired but so many cities are still gutted. Metropolitan areas are something to be avoided, due to the rampant crime and homelessness. The controlled demolition has turned once beautiful cities like Seattle into Beirut. They used to be centers of enrichment, with museums, concert halls and parks. No more. The cabal are busy stripping America while telling us to look at Ukraine. AGAIN. We see you, you evil maggoty grifters who hate America. You need to leave.
20 cows! I'm guessing that was pretty pricey. :-)
Yes, the world was quickly homogenized, and it's a sad thing all around.
Something tells me it won't hold. I hope I'm right.
Thanks, SJ, always good insights with humor and extra treat - loved the pics.❤️
I am sure we're all wondering. How many cows did your husband cough up?