Global Connections

At this very moment I am looking at a giant poster of the world. All the countries are outlined and labeled accordingly. I think about the recent drama going on in other parts of the world, the troubles in Egypt and Libya, the disaster in Japan. All of these reported on and the stories updated instantly. 
The world has never been more connected. Forget the Silk Road, we have the information superhighway. Major global events are known throughout the world almost as soon as they happen. We don't have to wait years or months or even hours for updates. 
Last year I was in a class on social problems. At the beginning of the semester the professor asked us if we had a positive or negative outlook on the world. After I thought about it for a minute, I decided that my outlook is positive because the world is so connected. We have never been more aware of each other.
Being aware of the world outside our doors can only be looked at as a good thing. Being aware is the first step in helping. The more people who are aware of a situation, the more people will want to do something about it. Having these instant updates on world occurrences lets  people know more, react faster, and have a bigger impact. 
In this way, the Internet is a huge blessing to world. How many lives have been saved because of it? Seems ridiculous to think of the Internet as saving anyone. For most of people it seems to suck the life right out of them. But that is only one end of the spectrum. On the other end are those who use their up-to-date knowledge of world events to create a positive change. At the moment I do not belong in this category. I can only hope that as time passes I too can find a way to use my connection to the World Wide Web for the greater good.