In Amsterdam for a conference, the evening meal conversation turned to Slovekia and the rapidly changing society there. This change is due to globalization, making the pace more rapid and providing more options in life. At the meal we wondered if it will change romance and love.
I write this because it points out how media is now the web or fabri of society and thus it colors the cohesion and coherence of a society, affecting the friendships that are possible and also affecting the ability to love.
My newly-found friend, 35-year old from Slovekia, told me that he married his high-school sweetheart whom he first laid eyes on at the age of 15. He saw her from afar as she boarded a bus and knew instinctively that she was the one love for him. After some investigation, he found out who she was and where she lived.
He showed up at her house, a complete stranger, knocked on her door and when it opened, there she was. (I wonder what would have happened if the parents had answered the door!) He unabashedly told her that he wanted to be her "real," "special" friend, not just a regular friend and that he wanted to start seeing her regularly. She replied that she needed 2 weeks to think about this proposal.
After two weeks, she said yes, and they began seeing each other. They married five years later, he was 20, and now they are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary. He says that love led the way and that there is never any doubt when that happens, if one is aware. He lives his life believing in romance.
And yet he senses that life in his small town in Slovekia has changed, become more rapid and more complex from that time not so long ago. Would he do now what he did then?
My sense is that Globalization is alive with Romance.
am
