I have a similar story. I was working at a large research university in a part of the country where it rarely snows.
I noticed one of our interns, a EE Masters candidate, sitting in front of one of our large windows looking outside. He had the most amazing expression on his face, childlike wonder.
I went over to him, and basically said something like “Hey, what’s up?“ he looked over at me with his mouth open, he looked like a 10-year-old. he said “I’ve never seen snow before. I’ve seen pictures, videos, but…"
I said "Might wanna go out and play around, who knows when this'll happen again?" he nodded, got his jacket, and did just that.
He got together with a few other folks and built a snowman. I took a picture from my office. if I could figure out how to attach it to this comment, I would.
I didn’t go with him, I had work to do.
He was from Vietnam.
You try to live a life without regrets. But sometimes they sneak up on you. You don’t see them until it’s too late.
We aren't the originators of this issue, no generation alive is responsible. We are experiencing predictable aftershocks of something that began awhile ago, a very purposful and strategic move to engineer society.
The transvaluation of all values was forced upon the west by the power elites during the industrial revolution. The culture now is that of mass man, not much short than clinical domestication. It is hollow, artificial and soulless. In our current state, our mere existence is pathological.
Until the common man can break out of the hyperreality and the modern "commedia dell'arte ' in sufficient numbers, we can expect the decay of society to only accelerate.
I wish more people have these experiences where they see and interact with others from different cultures to see them as unique people and to can wonder at their different perspectives and views on things. I've always been interested in how different people in different times and places viewed the world. It's amazing to think of how many perspectives or parallel realities we're all living in.
I think part of the problem with the US culture today is too many on the political left don't get outside of their echo chamber bubbles and see people as people to be learned from and talked with and enjoyed without trying to change them (which is ironic since they're always talking about being anti-colonization).
Re: "what we are doing to each other in the West"~~~And to think, just a few decades ago, in the main, people in the West were not embroiled in this hate for hate mentality. The colleges were not filled with group-think, act alike, brainwashed lib profs brainwashing the next generation. With classical education and respect for differences out the window, the anti-freedom of thought crowd is in control. The refreshing descriptions of real human exchange and camaraderie here should not be so startling, but they are, and they warm the heart like the descriptions of proper human connections should. Thank you for posting this gem.
Tea in Haifa: a Baha'i, a Muslim, a Jew, a Christian, and a Druze at one table.
I have a similar story. I was working at a large research university in a part of the country where it rarely snows.
I noticed one of our interns, a EE Masters candidate, sitting in front of one of our large windows looking outside. He had the most amazing expression on his face, childlike wonder.
I went over to him, and basically said something like “Hey, what’s up?“ he looked over at me with his mouth open, he looked like a 10-year-old. he said “I’ve never seen snow before. I’ve seen pictures, videos, but…"
I said "Might wanna go out and play around, who knows when this'll happen again?" he nodded, got his jacket, and did just that.
He got together with a few other folks and built a snowman. I took a picture from my office. if I could figure out how to attach it to this comment, I would.
I didn’t go with him, I had work to do.
He was from Vietnam.
You try to live a life without regrets. But sometimes they sneak up on you. You don’t see them until it’s too late.
Good article. The line
"what we are doing to each other in the west"
We aren't the originators of this issue, no generation alive is responsible. We are experiencing predictable aftershocks of something that began awhile ago, a very purposful and strategic move to engineer society.
The transvaluation of all values was forced upon the west by the power elites during the industrial revolution. The culture now is that of mass man, not much short than clinical domestication. It is hollow, artificial and soulless. In our current state, our mere existence is pathological.
Until the common man can break out of the hyperreality and the modern "commedia dell'arte ' in sufficient numbers, we can expect the decay of society to only accelerate.
We can be better, but we have a long way to go.
Deep words. Ty for sharing
Good to see you writing again. I enjoyed you on Twitter before I left. Happy Easter
TYVM 🙏 happy Easter to you too
I wish more people have these experiences where they see and interact with others from different cultures to see them as unique people and to can wonder at their different perspectives and views on things. I've always been interested in how different people in different times and places viewed the world. It's amazing to think of how many perspectives or parallel realities we're all living in.
I think part of the problem with the US culture today is too many on the political left don't get outside of their echo chamber bubbles and see people as people to be learned from and talked with and enjoyed without trying to change them (which is ironic since they're always talking about being anti-colonization).
Re: "what we are doing to each other in the West"~~~And to think, just a few decades ago, in the main, people in the West were not embroiled in this hate for hate mentality. The colleges were not filled with group-think, act alike, brainwashed lib profs brainwashing the next generation. With classical education and respect for differences out the window, the anti-freedom of thought crowd is in control. The refreshing descriptions of real human exchange and camaraderie here should not be so startling, but they are, and they warm the heart like the descriptions of proper human connections should. Thank you for posting this gem.