Virtual Travel
Dear Editor: I do not have a Real ID and it is easy to get infected on a jet, so I booked my flights on Hulu and Netflix. Reading subtitles as I traveled, I went to Turkey, to China, to Argentina, to Brazil, to Colombia, to the Balkans, to Spain and France, to many places I remember in general but cannot name and, finally, to a Hillbilly Elegy.
Browsing social media during layovers, I saw we have isolated ourselves according to our tastes about how we perceive reality.
Everywhere I went, cinematic artists were condensing and representing our common ethos, our central identity, our individual responsibility and need to be understanding of others. Allowing for national styles of dress, for local culture, for different acoustics that speak the universal cognitive language, others mostly turn out to be just like ourselves. We share a story rich, deep and beautiful, beyond the reach of distortion.
In this country, as around the world, we are not divided. During the last several years we simply exaggerated about our differences. Everywhere, people struggle to live and to understand. Their personal and family concerns are perplexing. When we think about making things better for them, we are making things better for ourselves.
John Welsh, Sitka
Rights
Dear Editor: Individual rights are a great thing to have when they don’t Trump other individuals’ rights.
Spike Arnold, Sitka
