An Important Lesson

If there were one thing I could choose to teach my children, it would be geography.  There is nothing more important to a 21st century citizen then to have knowledge of the earth we live on and the culture's that inhabit it.  As globalization accelerates, interactions between historically distinct populations will increase.  Ignorance of the factors that play into these interactions will not only result in bad decisions, but also ignore the inherent beauty in the vast diversity of people and places our world has to offer.

The more we don't know about other cultures, the larger the tendency to "otherize" them.  We take what little we do know about them, reduce their entire culture down to those essences, a
nd strip them of their agency.  For example, very little was known about Afghan culture before our invasion. This led the US into a strategic blunder in terms of nation building.  We failed to recognize that there really wasn't a true "nation" to begin with as many people felt a stronger allegiance to a tribe rather than their country.  The mountainous and isolated terrain of Afghanistan as well as its long complicated ethnic history all played into this phenomena.  The lack of in-depth understanding of the issue led to tangible consequences, as establishing a democratic government in a country which doesn't feel a strong allegiance to the nation and has constant tribal infighting has turned out to be a massive failure.

The effects of being geographically literate also bleed into personal issues.  From knowing how the Silk Road played into the development of the Persian rice dish you are currently eating, to knowing why your Chinese friend is living with their grandparents, knowledge of different cultures enhances every day life.  There's too much out there to always be surrounded the familiar environment you grew up in.  In addition, while it might be hard to learn every major world language in order to communicate directly with foreigners, you can learn about their art, history, and philosophy.  That way you can understand their perspective and their actions seem less alien.

Thus, expand your educational inquiries to a global scale.  Think about things from a different culture's perspective.  Take out a globe and search for the most obscure place, then try to learn something about it.  Not only will you be doing your curiosity a favor, but the entire world.