Racing time

Challenge Day 7: If you don't already know, go here to read about this challenge and why I am doing it.

Video of the day - Phil Borges on endangered cultures (http://www.ted.com/talks/phil_borges_on_endangered_cultures.html)

Thumbnail quote - "Of the 6,000 languages spoken on Earth right now, 3,000 aren’t spoken by the children. In one generation, we’re going to halve our cultural diversity.” (Phil Borges)

Why I chose this video - I greatly fear that culture will slip away while I am too busy doing other things, like working and saving money. I worry that landmarks or cities or people or experiences will be over before I can get there - like Venice will sink or the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu will be closed to tourists or the ancient wonders will fall into disrepair. What if I miss them? Looking at somebody else's photographs is not even comparable to experiencing something for yourself. I want to be there, to feel the awe in my soul at these amazing things. I do not want parts of culture to disappear, to be lost to the ages.

Summary - Strangely, I feel that this talk was poorly named. It was more about photographer Phil Borges' (lots of talks by these guys, hey?) travels and the things he's seen. He smuggled photos of the Dalai Lama into Tibet (an imprisonable offence) and took portraits of some of the people he met there. He discussed how the Dalai Lama had been exiled from his country for 46 years (52, now) and yet still preaches a message of peace and treating your enemies like a precious jewel. [So contrary to the Western notion of get 'em back].
He's been to South America and spent time with some of the most famously violent tribes (who are, by the way, only violent to intruders with malicious intent, i.e. the oil companies) who still fight with spears and blow-guns, to the area of Pakistan that is close to the Afghanistani border, and to the far north of North America.
Phil has started a group that partners up American classes with classes in indigenous communities. They have (at least) fifteen sites in five countries, and part of what they do is teach digital story telling - telling the stories of cultures that are disappearing. He shows one video made by a 19 year old in Guatemala about a severe mudslide that happened in his village. Hundreds were buried alive, and this young man still talks about having faith, and hope, and believing that everything is possible.

My Take-Away - I'm honestly not quite sure. This talk wasn't as inspiring or intense as many I have watched. I was blown away by the reminder of the Dalai Lama's commitment to peace, despite the fact that he cannot return to his own country. I was saddened by the stories about these small cultural groups in South America and the Middle East who are losing their cultures due to the seismic expansion of Westernization. And I was amazed that a young man who witnessed so much suffering and strife could still speak of faith and hope and everything being possible.
The ability of people like that hold on to their beliefs, to hold so strongly to the core of who they are despite the circumstances and events that rock them in this lifetime, is incredible.