Airplanes, computers, cell phones, heck even twitter-- we are connected globally. This isn't a new idea, but watching the Iranian people send cell phone images of the protests last week, I again appreciated the impact of technology on our global consciousness. Seeing everyday people send images in a passionate quest for democracy via the cell phone, I felt a connection to them and their plight.
In my own techno-global moment, I have my own cell phone pic of a Hare Krishna parade outside of an Anglican church in midtown Manhattan. As two foreign religions meet on Fifth Avenue, I am attracted to both. Is it right to pick and choose the best of other cultures? Japanese food, Scandinavian design, Italian sports cars, Indian textiles, French film, British authors, Irish music, I love them all. Ever eclectic in my own tastes, I crave the mixed bag of cultures globalism offers, but fear two possible side effects-- self-consciousness or homogeneity. But everything has that give and take, the yin and the yang of progress and destruction, and globalism is no exception. As cultures evolve, something is lost in the process. But for the Iranian people, let's hope something is gained: freedom.
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