Linkage Is Crucial

Cruise Day 8:  Wednesday, July 10, 2018

We are now coming into the port of Nynashamn, Sweden.  We lost an hour last night as we sailed from Finland and we gained an hour of sleep in return.  Does that make sense?  How can one gain and lose at the same time?   It does happen and the very thought gives me a certain degree of hope this morning. The sun is shining and I'm sitting  on the balcony of our Stateroom watching the ships and ferries coming into port, along with the yachts, sailboats and the little motor boats skimming by and the sea gulls welcoming one and all.  I've never had much experience with ships and boats and know very little about them.  I did notice, however, on the side of one of the ships these words:  "Linking Europe Together."  

So much is becoming "un-linked" just now with all the pseudo "patriotism" that goes along with the  nativism and nationalism stuff growing in America and in a number of European nations. The innuendos about NATO and the "mission-changing" and "mission-confusion" tweets of Mr. Trump as to NATO's purpose threaten an important and strategic alliance.  NATO is not a wall--it is a linkage (an alliance, a community).  Great Britain's withdrawal from the European Union and the threat of several other nations deciding to make a similar exit threaten the already fragile linkage of European communities.  The world's refugee crises grows with every passing day with thousands being "un-linked" from their native lands while other nations seem unwilling to link  up with them.

The ship's logo "Linking Europe Together" will finally win out over all the "us first" mentalities currently in vogue.  There is no way we can turn things back to another day or time.  We are a global village--one community, linked by ships, planes, and technology.  My brother commented just the other day as we walked the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia, "Anyone who travels can quickly see just how much we are the same, our behavior, our dress, our thinking."  The linkage may be broken in spots for a brief time, but it will come back.  It is better to be "linked" together than to be divided and isolated--and the truth is we have no choice in the matter.