Global Interdependence

Global Interdependence

Hope for peace is difficult to have and even more difficult to maintain. This is especially true when throughout history we have been taught that war, domination, and destruction are the only ways to deal with conflict. “The Histories” by Herodotus and “The Peloponnesian War” by Thucydides are regarded as two of the greatest histories of all time and these stories give the impression that violence and war are inevitable and even desirable. Our history is full of stories and influences like these, yet ever since the beginning of war; there has been a cry for peace. With the fighters of war, come the empowered people for peace. There are many obstacles to overcome on the path to empowerment, ranging from constructed structures and apathy to the past and habit, but it can be done.

Robert Marks states, “We are born and raised under circumstances neither of our own choosing nor of our own making. In fact, the world we confront is composed of social, economic, political, and cultural structures.” (21) These structures have been constructed by the writers of history, the governments that make the rules, and the people’s collective recognition of these structures. The important idea to note is that the structures are created; they are not real. People have the capacity to change, bend, or break these structures. Kathy Kelly’s story of the military man offering her water though she had just broken the law is an example of these social structures being bent. He was in a position of power, she was intentionally breaking the rules their common government put in place, and yet their human connection proved more powerful and they shared a moment of compassion. These two people experienced a bit of modern life accor...

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My personal growth from this book gives me hope for the entire world. If I am this affected by it, and every other person who has ever read this book has a similar reaction, the world is slowly getting rid of tourists. People will grow from their pre-visiting proactive educating, their in country education, and their processes after their travel is done. They will pass these lessons on to their children, and slowly the world will be filled with people aware of the social problems, the inequalities, the racism that still exists, the uneven distribution of wealth, and people will be compelled to act. This is the root of my hope for the world. People will become empowered to act through their education. Once the people experience the injustices of the world, they will be compelled to act because the human connection uniting all people, is too strong to be ignored.