Sunday 13 March 2011

The Great Wall of Ignorance

There is a good friend of our family in Darwin. We have known her for many years. She's beautiful, articulate, intelligent, qualified and cultured. She's been to more countries than most Darwinians know exist. I love hanging out with her. We have walked very different paths but share a similar view of the world - we like our lives and ourselves.

At breakfast today, we shared some stories...

I was talking to some acquaintances and mentioned the day Nelson Mandela was freed and the day he retired. One of the women sitting with us said "Oh, he's not retired." I was surprised and said that I thought he was just a statesmen these days. She agreed and said "Oh, he is a statesman. He's the president of the United States." In shock, I said nothing.

Another day after returning from a holiday to China, a friendly colleague asked how the trip was. "I climbed the Great Wall" was the response. She looked confused and then said "Oh, I thought they knocked that down".

To say some people live in a bubble is to imply that cocoon can be burst and reality let in. I sure hope that is the case one day.

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