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Geopolitical Wind

I wonder sometimes if I shouldn't be more world savvy. I was poking around on Neil Gaiman's blog, and I found that he writes about current events, reviews and general newspaper stuff. Some of it, granted, relates directly to his work (ie: the reviews). On the other hand, last night going home, I turned off the radio so that I didn't have to hear news. I don't pick up the papers, I never watch TV anymore and almost all my media comes from either Diane, the five second scan of MSN's homepage as I'm opening my favorites to link to various webcomics, or my iPod.

I guess I can't help but wonder if I'd be smarter, more "in the know" if I exposed myself to more media. Or would I become that prententious ass who can only talk about the failing economy and how geopolitical climates are never going to sort themselves out? Or would I be less self involved? More self involved?

Xanth's boots sunk in the snow and the wind pushed him forward as he made his way toward the trees. Lan walked beside him, the blowing snow forming an uneven layer of ice on his furry body, icicles forming on his whiskers. "Aren't you the least bit interested in the world outside the forest?" Both of them shook the snow from themselves as they reached the shelter of the large fir tree. The wind still howled around them as Lan sat beneath the tree and shook the moisture from his head again.
There was a brief silence, as Lan looked up at the man and considered. Then he smiled and sniffed the air. "Can you smell that?" the fox asked, squinting one eye at Xanth.
Xanth turned his head and sniffed the air, imitating the fox. "I can smell a few things. What exactly am I smelling for?"
"Everything," Lan said. "Look," he continued, "the wind is blowing out of the south, bringing with it warmer weather, which is bringing the heavy, sticky snow. You can smell the warmth and moisture in the air." Xanth sniffed again and noticed that what Lan said was true. "Can you smell the trees too?"
"Yes, I can." Xanth closed his eyes and tried to pick out the mingling scents of the forest around him. "The spruce and a little of the bitter smell of the poplar."
"Good," Lan said. "The saps are running again, bringing moisture to the limbs of the trees. They'll be awake again soon."
Xanth took a big breath through his nose, and exhaled, opening his eyes again and looked down at Lan. "But that doesn't answer my question."
"Doesn't it?" Lan's eyes reflected a mischievous glint that was belied his sincere tone. "The wind comes from beyond the forest, bringing the snow. On clearer days, it brings other scents, like smoke, or cooking food from some farm nearby, or the lake at the edge of the forest. It will bring rain, and helps move the seasons in and out of our little world. If you pay attention, the wind will let you know what's coming before it arrives. That's all that really affects me. If the governments have a world summit, or something terrible happens to people in some far away town, I still have to deal with the weather here, and though terrible tragedies are occurring beyond the forest, I still have to live here." Lan punctuated his last word by extending a paw and pressing it into the snow. "The world will move out there without our help, and we must move in here, doing what we can to get by, be comfortable and enjoy ourselves. We help where we can, but the things that are beyond our control we have to let go, or the thing is going to drag you behind it."
"Still, if we got more involved, we would probably be able to accomplish alot," Xanth retorted. "With our talents...." Lan stopped him.
"Xanth, our talents depend on having the time to dream, to speculate, to read and let the mind go. If you tangle it up in politics and money, it would be like putting the wind in a bottle. The rains wouldn't come, there would be no scents from the lake, the seasons would be dull. I'm not saying we can't do things to make life better outside the forest, but we would be losing something very important here."
The young man sat beside the fox, leaning back against the tree and smiled, roughly scratch Lan's ear. "You know, I should start writing this stuff down," he said absently.

posted by September @ 7:51 AM