Wayfinders Post 2

Wayfinders was definitely a book I don't normally read. I've parts of books like Guns, Germs, and Steel and The History of Almost Everything that remind me of this one. Slightly academic, but written in way thats almost narrative (if that's the right word). I enjoyed it, especially since this genre is something I am not inclined to. 

The part of the book that stuck out to me the most was the one talking about cultural destruction. Specifically, cultural destruction that occurred in the 20th century - the Tibetan Buddhists, the Rendille of the Sahara and Inuits and Northern Canada. Because of colonization, wars, slavery, these nations were forced to change their traditional way of life. Their culture completely altered, their people displaced, their traditions lost. It stuck out to me because I see this in the Philippines.

 Growing up I would ask my family why parts of our country simply didn't work. Everything from extreme poverty, to corrupt government officials, to historic sites being destroyed by Filipinos themselves. My parents would talk about how their parents grew up in a time where (some, not all of) these things were intact. Manila Bay was beautiful and swimmable, our heritage sites protected, and the city center wasn't a center of poverty but rather prosperity. Reading this book opened my eyes to how this is a global issue. Cultural preservation, ensuring that countries return back to their former glory after tragedies is important for their present development and prosperity - and it is something we should fight to protect.