The maiden flight

The world has become a smaller place since the moment Adam and Eve left the Garden in the book of Genesis, settling into the area we have come to deduce (by Scripture) to be in the Middle East, possibly in modern day Iraq. 

1,500+ convenient Starbucks in this area alone

Since then, there are other recorded instances of people migrating to various regions of the globe, spreading from Europe to Asia, inhabiting small islands in the middle of the Pacific, to the freezer that is Alaska. From these and many more places, men grew in technology, understanding, size, creativity, influence and power (some more than others). The last two things are what I’d like to emphasize, the concept that we now know as Geo-politics or Foreign Affairs.

 Men have been able to progress (in worldly terms) to some degree or another, because of the interaction that they have had with each other since their departure from Eden. Ranging from conquests in war, to land disputes, to treaties by marriage, to paying tribute, nations have out of necessity created the art of diplomacy and dealing with other powers. Having at their disposal ambassadors, emissaries, some sort of correspondence, and the covert use of espionage to gather covert intelligence, these have been useful in making most of their power or moving cautiously. The modern world is different than the Ancient Middle East because of the means by which information is gathered, distributed, and used for governments and their leaders.

 Most people are apathetic or unaware of the fact that our “bubble” in our community, county, state, or nation even, is able to escape the effects of events on the other side of the globe. 

 

I REALLY don't care right now...

For every person to hear of a far off land such as China in the 1800’s must’ve been exciting and strange. Today we can know all or much about any place on the planet, with a book (several sheets of paper, bound by a thick protective cover, which has words printed on the pages. It’s much like a computer screen, for the non-bibliophiles), a TV program, the internet, or the airplane (I’m still waiting for a Transporter, but a friend of mine has her doubts). Today anyone can communicate with the simple use of a cell phone, computer, Skype, or if you want to go retro and local, smoke signals (just not near a forest or fire-prone area). Due to these reasons and the fact that all peoples everywhere are affected, whether they are aware/like it or not, global issues matter.

 I have been guilty of this once before in my life and everyone else as well. We ignore the actual world around us and forget that there exists a world full of meaningful events. Greatest and one of the first (in the US) was WWI, with all its horrors. There have been many before that. For example the Seven Years War, before the US was an actual nation, involving several countries with much at stake (money, land and pride DUH!). Fast forward to today.  I will try to limit the scope of this blog to Europe and the Middle East as these are two of my favorite places. Specifically I shall deal with issues in the realm of geopolitics, which encompasses politics, economics, military, and a little bit of religion (where applicable).

 My plan for this blog is to show today’s current events as something relevant and worth taking note of. This will be done while looking through two lenses. The first lens is history (my major), as this provides context to understand how events are the result of years (if not centuries) of people holding grudges and not forgetting. The second lens is most important in the grand scope of things as this is my worldview: through Scripture. I won’t try to exegete passages to prove any points, but I want to show how these events, for the believer, are parts of God’s big picture. Events point to something, but what? There is no doubt that things are moving in a terrible direction, and that is what I will attempt to share with the readers (that’s you). I make no attempt to disguise my leanings, because let’s face it every writer has them; I’m just willing to tell you up front. I do desire to be as objective as possible and not be FOX News (definitely NOT MSNBC). I don’t expect to win many readers by adhering to Scripture as the source of my worldviews, but I do hope to be honest with you in my writing. I’m no expert, but I do hope to sharpen my skills as I write more, hence you are now my guinea pigs. I do want to have fun with this, as this has become something of a joy to know more about, and a passion that I hope to make into a career. I look forward to learning alongside you with every new post.