Small World?

It is amazing and frustrating to me that just as technology has gotten our planet more connected, the xenophobes in government are doing all they can to alienate us from the rest of the world. I think it is good to trade with other countries. It is good for people to travel and experience other cultures. That is often the best way to appreciate your own culture. Free exchange of ideas and ideals is good for humanity. What is good for people is not too good for government, though. Each government must convince its subjects that their country is the best there is, otherwise the people might decide to make some changes. Change rarely bodes well for rulers. Blind fools often say idiotic things like "Love it or Leave it!" Wiser voices say "Love it and Keep Improving it!" It is often said by government sympathizers that "America is the best, most free, country on Earth." Perhaps, but there is always room for improvement. Imagine you are standing in a bed of fire ants. While looking east you see a crater filled with lava. You should be very grateful that you are not in the lava. If you only look toward the east, you might truly believe that your situation is the best that there can be. All the while, west of you, is a green meadow filled with Twinkies and butterflies (or your pleasures of choice). If you are surrounded by a chorus of voices telling you that your fire ant bed is the best place there is, and that you are utopian or stupid for thinking that there might be a better life, you may believe it. But if you travel, or talk to other people, you will be less likely to buy into the propoganda. At times, even reading fiction can open your eyes to better possibilities. It is in government's best interest to demonize other cultures to create phantom enemies, or to magnify real ones. Ignorance is government's tool. Therefore government tries to keep the world big and scary, and builds walls and fences to keep you in your place.