Social Question

Sunny2's avatar

Do you feel you are part of the world?

Asked by Sunny2 (18718 points ) March 3rd, 2012

I know people who live in a suburb and have never been to the city nearby. I realize that, because I’ve traveled a lot and have met people in many places, I am part of the world. When I read the news of what’s going on in various parts of the globe, I can resonate with those people. Do you think you have a local view of things or are a small part of a much larger world population?

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25 Answers

Cruiser's avatar

I know I am part of the world and universe for that matter. But my world exisists here in where I live, work and play. Not to say I am not tuned into the wars, famine, disasters and suffering that happens each and every minute of the day. If I made that part of my every day world I would be a very sad and unhappy person. I see life in my world is for living each day the best possible way you can as you never know when it is your last.

JLeslie's avatar

I feel I am a small part of a much larger world population. Only recently have I started to really pay attention to local communities and the differences among them. I think now that I live in a small town it has given me a different perspective. I understand better why people want to perserve a lifestyle they have lived with their whole lives. How the culture within a community can be its own. I find it very interesting to think about.

I have always felt like the entire United States is open to me. I can live anywhere I choose in a huge country with varied communities, climates, topography, I feel very lucky in that way. I identify primarily as an American than the state or city I live in. My America is diverse, with people from all over the world, so it is hard for me to not feel part of the world. My husband is an immigrant to the US, so what my paternal grandfather, and maternal great grandparents. My America is full of many languages being spoken and food from all parts of the globe, and traditions.

marinelife's avatar

I feel as if I am part of the larger world.

thorninmud's avatar

There is a sense in which I am a creature of my local environment. This is the sphere in which I am an individual whose actions matter.

But that is only part of it. There is another sense in which there isn’t a whit of difference between me and the world, so much so that even to describe myself as “a part of the world” misses it.

Neither of these is true in isolation. But they’re both true at the same time.

JLeslie's avatar

@thorninmud I actually feel my actions matter in much more than my local community. Kind of the Pay it Forward idea. I feel like good actions ripple through the world.

ragingloli's avatar

No. I am its owner. All of it.

Blackberry's avatar

I don’t know. how would I assess that? I’m sure there’s some small community of people that haven’t even seen others outside of their village. Are we a part of their world, or are they not a part of our world?

Carly's avatar

I feel like the more I travel and see other parts of the world, the less I feel part of it, probably because it humbles me so much that I feel very small and insignificant.

flo's avatar

As I grow older I definitely keep feeling part of a larger world.

MilkyWay's avatar

No, I feel strangely cut off from society, but feel very much as one with and part of nature.

Sunny2's avatar

@Blackberry They are part of the larger world, but may not be aware of it. Until they meet you, maybe. That’s the point. There are people in our midst who have no concept of anything but their own circumscribed community and are content with not knowing. They don’t care about anything but their own small (relatively) life and have no empathy for others in the world.

CWOTUS's avatar


flutherother's avatar

As a human I am part of the human world.

MadisonPaige's avatar

A few years ago when my husband and I found each other, we were both alone against the world. Then the two of us together against the world. Things have come a long way since then, and everything is much better and happier now that certain events are behind us.

augustlan's avatar

Very much so. It actually kind of overwhelms me, sometimes. My focus is my little corner of the world, but I do feel connected to everyone, everywhere.

cookieman's avatar

I’ve always felt the need to explore. From riding my bike for miles into a dozen neighboring cities as a little kid, to taking the various train lines from one end to the other as a young teen, to traveling to nine different countries as an adult – I’ve always been aware of the larger world outside my neighborhood and its people (many so very different from my friends and family).

Even so, I know I have experienced little of this world by comparison and suspect I’ll be long dead before I can see it all. And while I am conscious to empathize with those around the world and their plights, I am ultimately just a kid from Boston with local concerns and no real understanding of the complexities of the world.

ddude1116's avatar

Not really. I’ve made attempts to, but all it’s done is make me increasingly aware I exist in my own world. No matter where I’m at, I feel like I’m looking in on a part of the world, not from within it.

wundayatta's avatar

I have always felt a part of the larger world. I’ve always thought of myself as a citizen of the world, first, and my nation second. I do not think borders are helpful or useful in any way.

MollyMcGuire's avatar

More importantly I feel that I am part of the Earth.

ZEPHYRA's avatar

No, never was and never will be. I feel I was just dropped off here by chance!

flo's avatar

I read the answers from those who say that they don’t feel part of the world, and I see two ways of looking at the question.

Sunny2's avatar

@flo What are the 2 ways?

flo's avatar

@Sunny2 I have to think how to put it. Since I’m probably not alone in seeing it that way maybe someone else will post. But give me some time.

Sunny2's avatar

@flo Take all the time you want.

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