Cultural Exchange

"Spirit I" - original painting by the author

Back at the dawn of civilization, a tribe of people from one area met a tribe of people from another - and didn't set out to obliterate each other. Instead, they oogled over each other's crafts/skills - special to each tribe because of its natural surroundings, resources, and developed abilities.  

It is human nature to find interest in things that are different from our normal existence.  And through this mutual appreciation, trade happened.  Whole villages, towns, cities and routes were built on the concept of trade and cultural exchange.  Humanity advanced as a whole because of it when the exchange was respected - and inversely failed when it turned to greed and war instead. 

We are of the age now where the tribes aren't just a small region, country, or continent - we are becoming a global community, where the lines of origin are often blurred at the individual level, roots far-reaching and tangled.  We are all interconnected, regardless of the color of our skin, shape of our bodies, gender, sexuality, or age. Our continued goal as humanity is to foster respect and understanding across a multicultural world - for in respecting and honoring others, we do the same for ourselves.

-Laura Tempest Zakroff, 3-5-2014