Dear Friends, and I mean it sincerely when I say friends,
I have been learning so very much here. We are going through troubling times and we have had, and will continue to have, many differences of opinions and many agreements, too.
Let us consider how valuable all of this truly is.
This forum, because of its high calibre of writers, researchers, readers and thinkers, has afforded one and all the opportunity to read source documents at the touch of a button, has afforded all and sundry the opportunity to feel safe in confiding, airing, displaying, arguing and examining feelings, values, political perspectives from all over the world. Inasmuch as we are very divided at times, we are also a family. We have grown older together, witnessed death, illness, successes, dreams dashed, hopes fufilled all within the confines of our very own hearts -- for it we did not possess them, if we were cold and sluggish and simply jaded -- we'd have never created such a glorious home.
Bless you, Alex Krislov, for giving us this opportunity, and all the sysops and section leaders who apply hearts and minds and concerns to all that transpires here!
Since I have been fortunate to witness activities and editorials and political events not only from my American cousins, but also from members reporting from around the globe -- just think how much we have all come to learn about different countries' politics! -- I would like to suggest a brand new venture, a new contribution to this forum.
Letters From Home
It is my suggestion -- and it's only that! -- that we institute a new permanent feature, located, I guess, in the Journalism Section, called Letters From Home, in which someone on a weekly basis reports on what happened in his or her neck of the woods that week.
Someone reports in from London and other English locations, from Ireland, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, the US and if possible from Corfu, Spain, and Brazil.
In many cases, more than one person reports when a country is so diverse and vast. That way, we get numerous letters, if the urge is there, from the same country, but from different geographical spots, affording us a look at what's happening locally,and what these events are all about.
It would be IMO be something I would very much look foward to every weekend. Someone's "official" letter from home that does not get lost in the threads.
I happily volunteer to speak from Quebec's rather proud and profane goings-on, and welcome viewpoints and reports from other Quebecers.
The reason I am suggesting this is that I have learned something most glorious in all of this purging and sharing and hair-pulling, and that is, we happen to be possibly every bit as important to the world as the world is to us! We are a mini UN, and we have an opportunity to exchange news that may not get out, exchange points of view that need to be heard and digested by one and all (of those who are interested, that is). We have the framework already in place in which to share the great resources at our fingertips.
I want to hear letters that tell me the official news, horrendous and also glorious, that tell me about the absurdities of daily life, that tell me what the letter writer ultimately thinks about them.
And, from the Darkness Falls thread, I am now convinced that this idea of reporting in -- on everything from the weather, to what's cooking in the kitchens of the world, who has shortages of what, and what the taxes are doing to kill us, and how major earth-shattering events are playing out -- is not only illuminating, educational, thoughtful, provoactive and informative...but also a miracle of the global community...possibly a most valuable instrument for us all in the event of anything of a catastrophic nature.
I am a curious kid. I always want to know where you ate or slept<g> or how your writing is going, or what your leaders said, or what some of your newspapers are parading, or what the silly gossip is...and I can't help but think this is enriching and invigorating.
I know we are in a large part already doing these exchanges, but they are often in assorted threads and much is often missed.
So -- what say you all? A good idea or not?
Carol
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