In the second week of June in 2023, a week before Regents exams, large amounts of smoke and pollution particles fell over the entire state of New York—here in Ithaca, the sky had an orange glow, and many called it “apocalyptic.” While the smoke eventually passed, it left an interesting question: why did we care so much about this comparably minor incident when other parts of the world were being more severely affected? It makes sense to a certain degree: we tend to care more about things that affect us directly. While that line of reasoning is undoubtedly valid in many cases, we need to ensure we’re not applying it inappropriately or worse, unknowingly. For example, when there’s a wildfire in the United States, it seems to get large-scale reporting, incredible amounts of disaster relief money, and triggers a conversation over climate change. Meanwhile, the wildfires raging across Greece, Turkey, and even Canada receive perhaps a day or two of coverage; most of the coverage of the Canadian wildfires being about how they affected the United States. While we are reading on the news about unimportant topics regarding the nation on the recently renamed “X,” Pacific Island nations are actively sinking and being destroyed due to rising sea levels. This problem is not uniquely American—when a group of Pacific island nations in 2019 asked Australia to phase out coal rapidly, Australia called it a “red line” and refused to do so. In fact, on many occasions asking students at IHS about the latest events in countries outside of the West, responses often include a “don’t care” or “don’t know.”
This is not exclusive to climate change. While Americans dealt with rising inflation, Yemen continued to suffer from a terrible famine taking the lives of many people. This is not to say that inflation in the US isn’t important—it certainly is—but it is not something that justifies a total lack of coverage of the suffering of the people of Yemen, who don’t have access to any food at all. After Hurricane Ian cut the power and destroyed infrastructure in Cuba, the US felt the need to have a debate about whether aid should be given to Cuba. However, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Cuba actively offered assistance to the US (which was refused by the Bush administration). After weeks of request, the Biden administration eventually sent Cuba two million dollars in aid. Meanwhile, Florida received 3.3 billion dollars of support from the federal government. The US government’s actions are highly influential worldwide, and therefore our knowledge of the world should be at a high level. Problems are not an American invention, and we must make ourselves aware of the situations in other countries to become better citizens of the world and of the United States because these events still affect us less directly. Global issues are important and we must be aware of them, yet this is often not the case.
This leads to the question: how does one become more knowledgeable about the world? Luckily, there are many answers. The first step is investigation or research. The internet is incredibly helpful for this. Instead of reading for the fifth time a trivial article on the indictments, read about an issue that’s new to you, perhaps starting with one mentioned in this article. Regularly reading papers with a more international focus, such as Al Jazeera or the BBC, can help increase your overall knowledge. Make sure to read from multiple sources and use skepticism so as not to fall prey to misinformation. If you feel motivated about a specific topic—like climate change or human rights—try looking at a global perspective of these issues. If an issue is appealing to you, research it! It’s essential to find something you’re passionate about.
To develop an even greater understanding and get better at using critical thinking skills, take the next step: innovation or problem-solving. This can just be something in your mind, but it can help to understand how different ideas, people, and issues interact with each other. Take the famine in Yemen. First, you would investigate the problem; look at the data about the famine, look at current efforts, and understand the root cause. In this case, Yemen’s civil war is preventing the import of crucial foodstuffs. You’d then get creative, attempting to think of solutions to the problem such as a peace agreement in the war that considers all sides or an effort to airlift food. This innovative step helps consider different points of view on the situation, which helps in understanding and critical thinking.
Hopefully, next time you hear about an issue, you’ll investigate it further and in a global context so that you can become a better citizen of the world.