September 2, 2020
Yesterday, as I often do, I went to the Weather Network online to have a look at the day’s forecast. It seemed a bit chilly, and I wondered if that was going to last for the day. I checked out the seven-day forecast, and sure enough Tuesday was going to heat up in the afternoon, into the eighties, and the next two days, according to the chart, called for high humidity. For example, looking ahead to today, it predicted a temperature of 77 that would feel like 93—and the same for Thursday.
But on Friday, and going forward, according to the chart, the temperatures will be much cooler—it will be 70 and feel that way. And then a headline on the website caught my eye: “A typhoon thousands of kilometres away will flip Ontario’s weather pattern on its head.”
Of course, I had to look. Apparently, the typhoon is tracking toward Korea, and is disrupting everything…and the result is that my little town here in Southern Ontario will have autumnal temperatures sooner than is normal. And what was the first thing I thought of as I was reading this article? I’ll tell you.
Let’s consider isolationism. Suppose I was to say, “I reject globalism. Only Canada!” That can be my opinion, and my desire, and as we all know, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and desires. The reality, though, is that life here in Canada can be affected by global jet steams and typhoons, hurricanes and even El Niño. Global influences are absolutely unavoidable.
Opinion, or belief or even desire is not the same thing as truth or reality.
I can deny the relativity of a typhoon a world away near Korea; but my denial of it has nothing to do with the reality of what is. I can deny its relativity but that won’t change the drop in temperatures we’re about to experience. No man—or woman—is an island.
Years ago, if you had asked me, what one thing above all others do I hate more than anything else in this world, my answer would have been “lies”. That is still true today.
We’re not supposed to lie. Just like we’re not supposed to kill. I can hear a voice now! “Morgan, you simply cannot equate lying with murder!” My response is that I didn’t equate them. Someone Else had those two on the same list of ten—God’s top ten of what we ought not to do. Now, if you tell me that “bearing false witness against our neighbor” is not the same as lying, my response would be to take it up with the original Author of that list.
But I digress.
The movement to put one’s own country first isn’t about putting it first, it’s about isolationism. And isolationism is not natural. Yes, that’s my opinion. But wait, there’s more.
The hurricane that hits the south-eastern coast of the United States, or pounds the Gulf coast, originates off the coast of Africa; the dust storm that envelops the Saharan desert in Africa clouds the skies over Florida, the Caribbean and South America. And this year it reached up toward the Midwest.
The explosion of the volcanic island of Krakatoa in Indonesia was heard in Perth, Australia and the entire globe was affected by the ensuing Tsunami and the chilling of global temperatures.
A new virus springs into being in Wuhan, China, and the entire world is infected—with the possible exception of American Samoa. As of July 27, 2020, they still had no cases.
Isolationism is not natural. What is natural, is that this is one world, and what happens on the other side of it from us can affect us. If being connected, then is natural, could it not be said that being isolated is unnatural?
Well, I just made that argument, briefly yes, but not unartfully, in my opinion. And I didn’t even remind everyone that viewed from space, our planet has no borders. I guess that means that borders are unnatural as well, but that is another discussion.
There is yet one more way that I could frame this argument which is, perhaps, more whimsical, but no less true.
We are all made of star-stuff. All of us, every one of us. We have all been created by the same Creator. I happen to believe that we are all beautiful, all special, all talented, each of us in our own way. And that if one of us is treated unjustly, then we all are treated unjustly.
Go ahead and call me naïve. I will wear that label, and proudly. And I will hope and pray that in the coming months, more people will believe as I believe and do what must be done to take a big whopping chunk out of cruelty, injustice, greed, and yes, the lies that are plaguing our 21st century day-to-day lives.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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