Let us all be from somewhere.
Let us tell each other everything we can.
In one of my favorite poems, “The Primer“, Bob Hicok writes fondly about Michigan, his home state. He uses a variety of facts and observations to convey his love for the state: he cites facts like the state bird and the state flower, he describes quirky land features like the Upper Peninsula, and he very specifically captures the weather.
He even mixes fact and fiction to create hyperbole: “We are a people who by February /want to kill the sky for being so gray /and angry at us. ‘What did we do?’ /is the state motto.”
Without a doubt, Hicok does a great job of capturing and communicating a sense of place by using precise language and imagery. The reader can feel Hicok’s love for Michigan.
Given widespread digitization and the simultaneous rise of the global economy, the notion of “place” online becomes less and less obvious. The web’s communal capabilities sometimes overshadow the things we lose. The Internet is a global marketplace and a meeting ground for people from all countries. It levels the playing field for people of all economic brackets, races, genders, and ages. Everyone looks the same on the Internet.
But the Internet also sometimes looks like an anonymous hotel room with stock furniture and paintings bolted to the walls. Should we care about maintaining quirkiness and locality in such a stark landscape?
Absolutely.
In “real life”, equality is not always possible. Sure, everyone should be afforded the same opportunities, but some people, by virtue of where they live (climate, physical landscape, etc.) cannot enjoy the same lifestyles as other people. For example, someone who lives in the plains is not going to enjoy wake-boarding as a hobby.
Though the Internet artificially creates the equality we lack, we can still learn from inequality and difference, and we should celebrate both the strengths and weaknesses of all locales and cultures. People should love where they come from and share that love with others, especially online.
When you travel in real life, do you like to share stories about your home with other people? Of course, if you’re proud of your home, you will always want to showcase your best self. The same is true online; be a noble ambassador for what you represent.
Learn how to assimilate into the global Internet culture but maintain your sense of place. Learn to love your home and your culture and learn how to talk about these things in a way that will interest other people. You don’t have to be a poet like Hicok but try your best to communicate a genuine perspective.
This way, the Internet will become a livelier and more colorful place.
*Title stolen from “Inside Out” by Better Than Ezra
(Photo by Editor B)