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Of people, places and things
T.P.Jackstraw Updated: 2004-02-18 09:00
China is a frontier of new possibilities.
I really dislike the blind attacks on the Chinese government. That China has troubles, there is no doubt, that the US has big problems, I have no doubt! That any Nation that dares to claim their system is the closest to Utopia is asinine!
Why Mr. Bush, the neo-conservatives, the power brokers, the warmongers, etc., that seem determined to pounce on the New Republic, it seems to me, is just simple instinctive bullying tactics of poorly raised trailer trash!
In the Raleigh region of North Carolina, I can attend meetings and presentations of some very brilliant and stimulating scientists and businessmen, attend plays, concerts, museums and view the latest traveling exhibits.
However, in the Western region of this State, things are much different. The people have been geographically isolated by the mountains. The ancestral White population has wallowed in the need to just survive -- it is not easy to grow crops on the side of a mountain, especially when the infrastructure, isolated by disinterest and difficult mountain ranges have kept the region stagnated.
In the mountainous region of the State, some glaring attitudes of the older indigenous population are abrasive to new ideas and the attempts by the flatlanders to impose them -- pollution, zoning, better forestry and land management, protecting wetlands and wildlife are considered the notions of smart asses and are they are treated with great disdain. Consequently, the region lacks the potential of a frontier for new possibilities!
The change to that region has come in the form of retirees from other places within the country: they bring intellect, ideas, money and know-how. This has been a slow evolutionary process of a period of 40 years or so, much slower than China's proven ability to progress!
So what is it that you want? If you are blessed enough to be given a home so beautiful in the green, lush Appalachians, perhaps your greatest ambition is to own a mobile home, a satellite TV receiver, a truck, a rifle and an endless supply of beer! What more could an old redneck want?
Scientists and businessmen are busy, they stay that way! Thoughts are about solving real practical problems of a complex nature on an everyday basis -- no one has time to hang around the cracker barrel, to sit on the rocking chair on the porch and stare at folks from 'not-from-around-here' as they go down the road (at least for some).
But for many folks in the mountains, life is simple, thoughts are simple, ambitions are simple. Perhaps most folks have become well adjusted to this community (it is all they know), they are friendly (in a relative sort of way) and God-faring Christians! There are so many nice churches as well: in places the ratio of people to churches may be in the order of about 50:1! Almost everyone's brother is a reverend of some kind or another!.
Just a few hundred kilometers apart from each other, there are two worlds, quite far apart.
Give the New Republic a chance to grapple with its problems and watch as new innovative thoughts of governing and lawmaking begin to come into practice.
Meanwhile, if you are in Beijing, for instance, I encourage you to take the opportunity to meet with and engage the old men in conversation -- there is an endless amount of investigation into the culture, the ideas, and the perspectives of wise people watching people on the move! They will tell you they are not happy with the new consumerism, they are disappointed in the spirit of their people, they are not prepared to trust the younger generation -- it is so much like all the old men everywhere.
Keep asking about things and you will find that what might seem like superstitious nonsense and half-baked old wives tales, might well warrant a closer examination: they are unique!
Rather than seeing the place as a bore, take the challenge of a greater discipline and renew your eagerness to learn and accept!
| The above content represents the view of the author only. |
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