Things in perspective

Perhaps we USA Americans still do not dominate the rest of the humans in the world. Perhaps other humans in the world will go their own way for their own reasons, generally local and family in nature, I think.

We USA Americans have had a great flowering in the last half of the 20th century, and most of us have qualities of life that are pretty good, at least compared to the last 100 years, or other places in our present human world.

Now perspective is something special if one can achieve it. And of course it is something akin to politics and a tendency for humans to generalize about almost anything.

So some perspective is appropriate when things seem to be going to hell in a hand basket these days. Maybe things are better than they seem, especially depending on where you live. Just what does one think about things, for example, in the NE part of Sri Lanka?

So, I, as a USA American, also have a heart and a mind, and that should count too for those westerner leaders who put some much importance into the hearts and minds idea.

So, and this is a perspective, things are better in the human world today than, say, 100 years ago. And a perspective is that western domination by all means, like a world war or two, or colonial expansion, or British cultural standards, have made the world human quality of life better, though not perfect by a long ways.

A last perspective appropriate to these days on the earth is that we humans can only change so much in a given period of time. This idea prompts one constant discussion…does the earth evolve gradually, or catastrophically, or some combination thereof.

Now my opinion is that the great flowering in the USA America has been too fast for much of the rest of the human world. And much friction will come out of this, like even a nuclear regional war or two. Change always also evokes opportunities for those willing. And some are “willing”. Present regional powers like Iran and China may surprise us in what their leaders do.

So I suggest one more perspective. We USA Americans simply do not dominate the rest of the human world these days. Our great flowering was really nice here, but kind of boring elsewhere. Now we new world types still do have great influence, mostly based on ideas and culture, economics, media, and even some military stuff. But even the military bit is just more defense than offense. I don’t know many who want to invade places like where they happen to live. In other words, respect those who live where they live.

Now one more perspective. For decades we USA American political leaders have wanted to promote the rest of the human world in our vision. Now we get to live it, it seems. And we are not too shabby, especially if one looks at the immigration stuff.

One last perspective. Much has been said about capitalism in the last year or so. What has bothered me is that, and again this is something between an opinion and a perspective, is that this is a western idea. Now I think the problems are more greed and human and ethics oriented, and those in the east are also pretty bad.

Leveraging one’s financial bet is one thing in America, raping the rain forest in Borneo is another. Both kind of things affect we humans.

Now that is a perspective.