Globalization as a form of Humanism

The world is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people. Don't be afraid of it.


The other day, I went out with some friends. We ate Japanese food. We then went to see an Indian film. Afterwards, I went by myself to enjoy a Korean bath and ended up discussing kimchi with a bunch of Korean women I had never met before while we all sat naked in a hot tub.

It was a great evening and I felt wonderfully connected to the world afterwards.

This sort of multi-cultural experience can really only happen in a place that is open to different people with different cultures, different foods and different entertainment.  A place that embraces diversity as a fundamental aspect of our concept of who we are as a people.

To say I love globalization is an understatement. To me, globalization is a form of Humanism. I realize some people view globalization as a form of capitalistic exploitation and it certainly can manifest that way.

But to me and to Wikipedia, globalization is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization 

As a Humanist, I want to be connected to other humans on the planet. Not in an exploitative way, but in a genuine lets get to know each other sort of way. It's why I found myself sitting naked next to a bunch of Korean women who were telling me I need to eat kimchi for my complexion.  That is the sort of globalization experience we should all strive for.

And I don't think we can mitigate the negative aspects of capitalistic exploitation without building those truly humane connections with other people. It is very easy to exploit people you don't know and don't care about. But if you do know people and view them as fully human, it becomes a lot harder.

The more we the people share our food and music and movies and entertainment and relaxation rituals and get to know each other as humans, the less fear we will have of each other. The less fear we have, the less governments will be able to manipulate us into doing really insanely stupid things that are supposed to protect us - but only hurt people instead.

I live in a semi-rural part of Florida. All of these things I did, were withing 45 minutes of my home. I have access to pretty much every sort of cuisine in the world. I can get Arabic, Indian, Philippine and Ethopian food if I want to in my county - which is semi-rural!  In major cities, there are even more options. It doesn't matter where you live, you have access to meeting and learning and experiencing parts of the world you may never otherwise get to travel to.

When I tell people how I spend my time exploring all that the world has to offer by exploring what the various immigrants in my community offer, people I know are shocked. They had no idea these places exist.

And they are often too scared to go to these places on their own. I gotta be honest, I'm not particularly brave. What I am, is a Humanist. And I know from experience that most humans are good people. So I put myself out there - and make friends. And because I put myself out there, I end up making friends in places I would never have expected. 

And yes, I am aware that a lot of my positive experiences are a result of my skin color and that if I was black - I could and probably would be treated very differently. But my advice still stands. We white people need to do better and be a LOT more inclusive in our activities so that inclusion becomes the norm and we make the world safer for everyone.

The world is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people. Don't be afraid of it. 

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