For our last unit in history we watched two films, Lost in Translation and Into the Wild and read three texts, which were The Global Soul by Pico Iyer, Cosmopolitanism by Appiah, and Planetary Culture by Gary Snyder (is found on page 123 from Engaged Buddhist Reader). In a way, they were all related to globalization.
Are you aware of what globalization really means? If you know, or you don't I will give you a quick re-cap about what it is..
According to the Globalization101 by The State University of New York, globalization is defined as " a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and government of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology." Globalization contains political, economic and social changes. Politically, you have the alliance between the countries (for example the Allies vs. the Axis). Trade between other countries and how it is done is an important economic factor. The media doesn't hide anything for us today and it has a high social impact on the world as well as a political and economic impact. We can take action using the Internet! We can raise awareness!
Globalization has both a positive and negative impact.. What do you think?
“The mercy of the west has been social revolution; the mercy of the East has been individual insight into the basic self/void. We need both.” -Gary Snyder
In this quote, Gary Snyder a Buddhist who wrote Planetary Culture, suggests that we need to have a balance in this world between what the West and the East offer. This relates a little to Taoism and precisely the yin yang. The yin yang is where two opposites fit and match each other for example darkness and light. It means that the yin and the yang are in perfect harmony and that they flow into each other. We can relate this Gary Snyder's quote and what he is saying in his book of their being unity and how their is no need for negativity. "There is nothing in human nature or the requirements of human social organization that requires a society to be contradictory, repressive, and productive of violent and frustrated personalities." In addition, to Gary Snyder, he describes a planetary culture as, "The states is greed made legal, with a monopoly on violence; a natural society is familial and cautionary. A natural society is one that 'follows the way,' imperfectly but authentically."
If our world had harmony it would be because of conversation as Appiah describes in his novel Cosmopolitanism. "Conversations across boundaries of identity---whether national, religious, or something else---begin with the sort of imaginative engagement you get when you read a novel or watch a movie or attend to a work of art that speaks from some place other than your own." Conversations would bring us together even if we didn't agree on everything that was being said. Take Chris or as he decided to call himself, Alexander SuperTramp in the film, Into the Wild... he met Waine, Ron, Reno, and many other people on his journey to Alaska. He brought them happiness and he gave them advice through the power of conversation. He was special to them. Nevertheless, he did not maintain any contact with any of them because he wanted to be alone and live and be in his mind in Alaska. Bob and Charlotte from Lost in Translation, meet and become friends because of conversation and as Snyder mentioned, they came from the West, and they were in the East at the precise moment and their relationship had harmony.
"Conversation doesn't have to lead to consensus about anything, especially not values; it's enough that it helps people get used to one another." -Appiah
I feel like what Gary Snyder says in Planetary Culture, and what Appiah says in Cosmopolitanism all come together to form the Global Soul.
What is a global soul according to Pico Iyer?
"I think a global soul is somebody who lives in the cracks between cultures, or lives in a world so international that he or she has to devise some scratch answers to the most fundamental questions: what is your home, what is your community, what tradition do you belong to, and even who are you." -Pico Iyer
At the very beginning of Pico Iyer's book, there is a quote that sums up what the Global Soul is about, "Philosophy is really homesickness: the wish to be everywhere at home." -Friedrich Nietzsche
I have lived and experienced a diversity of cultures such as France, United States, Japan, Brazil, and Spain (even though I've never lived there). For me living in the country where I was born would be tough because I have more of a cosmopolitan view than others and moving to all these different places has shaped me to the person that I am today. I will continue to change as I will continue to adapt to the different cultures. I feel that I am a global soul from Pico Iyer's definition because when someone asks me where my home is? well most of the time I'll say I was born in France, but is that really my home? In addition, I also feel that I am cosmopolitan and Appiah mentions in the video above, and it is true not everyone is cosmopolitan or can adapt and live in more than one culture.
