When you live in America, it's kind of insular - the news

"When you live in America, it’s kind of insular—the news coverage that you get—unless you’re really wise about it and seek broader international voices. I’ve learned that from my husband. In the French culture, they talk politics." Thus spoke Kim Raver, and though her words arise from her own life, they resound with an ancient truth: that every people risks blindness when it gazes only upon itself. To be insular is to live in a narrow chamber, mistaking the echo of one’s own voice for the sound of the world.

The ancients knew this danger well. The city-states of Greece often turned inward, caring only for their own pride and disputes, until greater empires swept upon them. But those who lifted their eyes beyond their borders, who learned from the ways of others, gained strength in wisdom. For the man who sees only his own reflection in the water knows little; but the man who listens to the rivers of many lands drinks of truth more deeply.

History bears witness in the fall of China’s Qing Dynasty. Proud and closed to the international world, the empire once strong became brittle, unable to comprehend the movements of foreign powers. Its insularity weakened it, until it was carved apart by those who looked beyond their own shores. Meanwhile, nations that studied other lands, that spoke of politics and world currents, endured and grew.

Raver, in speaking of France, reminds us that cultures differ not only in what they see but in how they speak. To discuss politics openly, to wrestle with ideas, is a sign of vitality. It sharpens the mind, strengthens the people, and prevents the slumber that comes with silence. The ancients would have called this discourse a duty, for a people that refuses to speak of power soon finds itself powerless.

Therefore, let this lesson be carried onward: do not live as one blindfolded within the walls of your own land. Seek the wider world, listen to many voices, and engage with politics, not to divide, but to understand. For the nation that looks only inward will wither, but the soul that seeks international truth and dares to speak of it will grow in wisdom. Thus the wise balance love of homeland with eyes open to the world.