The South Wing

The models of the world I saw in every classroom as i was growing up were called globes.  Each one was a smooth sphere, except for a deep groove about the middle which was supposed to tell us where the equator was and a metal axis that allowed it to spin on its base.  And every landmass was printed with its name, every ocean with its name, and every sea with its name, and many cities also with their names.  And every country was a different color from the ones surrounding it, each with a dark border around it, as though they were no less distinct than are lakes from the land surrounding them.

But that is not what the world looks like.  Yes, it should be smooth because on that scale the mountains are diminished to bumps and impressions.  But at that scale, the borders disappear, too.  The difference between the Dominican Republic and Haiti remains clear because of how deeply and self-destructively Haiti has deforested its side of the border.  Likewise, many states remain separated by rivers that are their natural boundaries.  But the difference between Mexico and the United States? And between Israel and Gaza? India and Pakistan? And between France and Germany?  Differences over which so many have died?  These are not apparent from the vantage point of the stars.  I wish that had been a lesson taught in any one of those classes, but it was not.