orld as a Global Village: Learning to live together

The term ‘Global Village’ can easily be defined as an exchange of various cultures through
telecommunications. Though it may seem simple enough considering the technological advances
made in the last decade or so, the motives are clearly not there. Humans are clearly built for
survival and the need to progress solely depend on on it. The need to learn and adapt to different
cultures and their way of life can be intimidating to most and eventually they fail to cope with
the responsibilities that come along with it. The concept of a ‘global village’ is quite simple in
theory but hard to apply. That being said, it has the potential of being a truly world-changing
concept, if applied correctly on a bigger scale.

One of the main reasons that we have not been able to implement it on a global scale is the
conflict within. The scales of strength in terms of political, social, and economical powers are
unbalanced among many nations and are often the defining factors when it comes to avoiding
conflicts. The more powerful you are, the more you can dictate. In light of these events, less
powerful countries feel intimidated and are unwilling to compromise and decline anything that
comes their way. In theory, they can be strong-armed but, in reality, that just kills the whole
concept of adaptation and tolerance that are so crucial in the art of living together in a friendly
environment. The ones with power fail to adapt and the ones with lesser power fall short in terms
of tolerance and vice versa.

Adaptation is an obvious and perhaps the most important trait required for living together in a
community challenged by various cultures, traditions, and values. It is hard enough to encounter
in our daily lives, one can only imagine the impact it has on a macro-level. Unlike animals,
humans have the ability to adapt through superior knowledge and common sense rather than
instinct.

Tolerance is not something you inherit but is an art of silent expression that has to be learnt over
a passage of time. It holds a great value in not only living together as a global community but
also getting the added benefit of peace. The more peaceful an environment is, the chances of
maintaining a healthy relationship within the community flourish with it.

Finally, how media processes and portrays the various traditions and cultures play an important
role in bridging gaps between communities all around the world. In this day and age, media is
not only limited to newspapers or a set of televisions but is widespread through the Internet.
Social media (mainly: Facebook, Twitter) has made it convenient for anyone to get up-to-date
with what’s going on around the world. Notable issues such as feminism, terrorism, and political
issues make the headlines with people of different viewpoints trying to contribute for a change.
Even though the mechanism is simple enough, there is a potential downside to this medium.
Freedom of speech is an integral part of this process and every now and then there are people
trying to use it in a negative way to ensure that their publicity stays intact. To combat this, people
must be presented with a background story to the problem in an effort to educate them about the
whole issue rather than focusing on selective journalism. This would ensure that people keep
their biases to the minimum when judging and commenting on a certain topic of interest.

NOTE: This is a work in progress.

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