As yesterday was senior skip day (I did not actively participate, I was sick) I'm not really sure of the background of this response, so I guess I have to go straight into answering the questions you're asking, Dr. Ayers. I guess this the time to toot my own horn, because I typically try to provide some background to make it easier for the reader to understand what we're talking about...anyways...
I think this map illustrates the ignorance of the American population, myself included. I had absolutely no idea how much land mass Africa is composed of, but I guarantee that a majority of people have no idea how large Africa is in comparison to the rest of the world. This is important because we continue to remain ignorant. If we continue to not know even the smallest facts about each other, then we will never be able to come together and make unified decisions as a world. If we continue to be ignorant, we cut ourselves off from the situations and problems globally.
This picture also illustrates how powerful Africa could potentially be one day. They have the resources, the land and the people to become a globally recognized power. This is important because as the Western world reaches a threshold for what is capable for them to accomplish, there will be areas that need to take over and African countries could potentially make up that difference.
Why should this map appeal to people? It shows the world exactly as it is. We see ourselves as larger than life here in the U.S. Often we think of Great Britain as much larger than it actually is because it holds so much political power, however it's actually only the 79th (?) largest country in the world. This map shows that even the weak are mighty. That's not exactly a politically correct statement, but it makes sense to me. We don't see Africa for what it could be because it isn't "advanced" like us. Although advanced is a completely relative term.
I think this map illustrates the ignorance of the American population, myself included. I had absolutely no idea how much land mass Africa is composed of, but I guarantee that a majority of people have no idea how large Africa is in comparison to the rest of the world. This is important because we continue to remain ignorant. If we continue to not know even the smallest facts about each other, then we will never be able to come together and make unified decisions as a world. If we continue to be ignorant, we cut ourselves off from the situations and problems globally.
This picture also illustrates how powerful Africa could potentially be one day. They have the resources, the land and the people to become a globally recognized power. This is important because as the Western world reaches a threshold for what is capable for them to accomplish, there will be areas that need to take over and African countries could potentially make up that difference.
Why should this map appeal to people? It shows the world exactly as it is. We see ourselves as larger than life here in the U.S. Often we think of Great Britain as much larger than it actually is because it holds so much political power, however it's actually only the 79th (?) largest country in the world. This map shows that even the weak are mighty. That's not exactly a politically correct statement, but it makes sense to me. We don't see Africa for what it could be because it isn't "advanced" like us. Although advanced is a completely relative term.