In 1987, the Cold War was approaching its end. It was a strange war—it wounded people’s minds and hearts but did not kill them. KP got caught up in the Cold War when his Polish translator fell in love with him. He invited me to the Rose and Crown pub on North Parade Street to meet her. The Rose and Crown (1887) is located on what used to be farmland owned by St. Johns College in north-central Oxford. Now, one hundred years later, KP, his girlfriend, and I were sitting at one of its tables. No one else was in the pub. Here is their story as I recounted it to my husband:
Yeah..I would have been suspicious of Polish lady and her sudden declaration of love, too... 😂 As for KP, definitely NOT mature enough to be around kids. 😂
One more thought - the rose logo for the Rose & Crown looks strangely like Luther's Rose. I bet there is a historical connection somewhere in the annals...
Your insight about the freedom to travel from country to country, and how we are deprived of that basic right, is totally interesting! It is certainly possible to understand the implementation of passports in terms of economic migration – an issue as relevant today as it ever has been. Your example of famine and war places particular emphasis on the question of basic human rights.
I have a few friends who have chosen to live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico as expats. They love it there, because of the local flavor and the economic advantage they have. Of course, their freedom to choose where to live comes as a benefit of Social Security and Pension checks, as well as credit cards still maintained in the US. The Cold War is still with us, but as per George Orwell, they have done such a good job of it, we don’t notice it.
The ability to segregate the working population into countries (especially by way of restrictions against working outside the country of your birth) provides a huge advantage to multinational companies who can find the cheapest labor on the globe. Does it not seem strange that a corporate entity has the freedom to locate anywhere in the world, but human beings do not have that right?
There are, of course, some ways to live in a foreign country. You can be a student in a foreign country (but you will likely be prohibited from working). If you have a source of income that does not come from working (rich or retired), you can find some countries that allow you to stay for longer than six months. Also, there are now digital nomads who can do their work anywhere on the globe. I expect that it is only a matter of time before laws will be created to put an end to that type of freedom because of the inability of national governments to tax the income of the wandering workforce.
Interesting about the wandering workforce! A week or so ago, the high end computer chip designers working in China were all ordered (by the US) to quit their jobs or give up US citizenship. Needless to say, many of them are moving to India and Taiwan. The biggest iPhone facility in China is located in Zhengzhou, and all of the latest Apple iPhones are made there - the factory is not regarded as a bastion of human rights.
Yeah..I would have been suspicious of Polish lady and her sudden declaration of love, too... 😂 As for KP, definitely NOT mature enough to be around kids. 😂
One more thought - the rose logo for the Rose & Crown looks strangely like Luther's Rose. I bet there is a historical connection somewhere in the annals...
Your insight about the freedom to travel from country to country, and how we are deprived of that basic right, is totally interesting! It is certainly possible to understand the implementation of passports in terms of economic migration – an issue as relevant today as it ever has been. Your example of famine and war places particular emphasis on the question of basic human rights.
I have a few friends who have chosen to live in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico as expats. They love it there, because of the local flavor and the economic advantage they have. Of course, their freedom to choose where to live comes as a benefit of Social Security and Pension checks, as well as credit cards still maintained in the US. The Cold War is still with us, but as per George Orwell, they have done such a good job of it, we don’t notice it.
The ability to segregate the working population into countries (especially by way of restrictions against working outside the country of your birth) provides a huge advantage to multinational companies who can find the cheapest labor on the globe. Does it not seem strange that a corporate entity has the freedom to locate anywhere in the world, but human beings do not have that right?
There are, of course, some ways to live in a foreign country. You can be a student in a foreign country (but you will likely be prohibited from working). If you have a source of income that does not come from working (rich or retired), you can find some countries that allow you to stay for longer than six months. Also, there are now digital nomads who can do their work anywhere on the globe. I expect that it is only a matter of time before laws will be created to put an end to that type of freedom because of the inability of national governments to tax the income of the wandering workforce.
Interesting about the wandering workforce! A week or so ago, the high end computer chip designers working in China were all ordered (by the US) to quit their jobs or give up US citizenship. Needless to say, many of them are moving to India and Taiwan. The biggest iPhone facility in China is located in Zhengzhou, and all of the latest Apple iPhones are made there - the factory is not regarded as a bastion of human rights.