Should people outside our own group matter to us?

Activities : Reading

Lesson : Modal Verbs

Level : A1

It’s great to love your country, love your people, feel a great sense of solidarity and belonging to one another. But have you ever felt sympathy, if something happened to someone in another country?

Maybe it was war. Maybe their human rights were violated.

Maybe their home was damaged by an environmental disaster.

Can you find the modal verbs in this passage?

Maybe, deep down, we understand that despite our differences, they are still human, just like us. They have families and friends. They feel happiness, fear, pain, and hope. They want to be safe, respected, and have a good life. We may live in different countries, speak different languages, and have different cultures. But we can still care about one another. Sometimes, things or events that happens far away could very well affect us too. In short, problem in one country could become a problem for people in another country, and to society at large.

Imagine this Scenario

People from another country throw trash into the ocean, and it affects your country. The government of your country does nothing because it is outside its area of authority, while the government of the other country also does nothing. 

Now, what if it were the other way around? People from your country throw trash into the ocean, and the trash reaches a neighboring country. When our actions affect other people, should we take responsibility? Should countries work together to solve problems that cross borders?

This is called interconnectedness.

So, understanding our connections means not only understanding our differences and our roles in this world, but also our responsibilities.

So, would you want to hold hands with people around the world and work together to solve the world’s problems?