Last Exploration for English 1110
      I liked that Wendell Berry stated the comfort and assurance that comes with having locally based economies.  In one excerpt of the essay, Wendell stated a point from Albert Schweitzer's view of the Ogowe region of in Africa, "Whenever timber trade is good, permanent famine reigns in the Ogowe region because the villagers abandon their farms to fell as many trees as possible . . . These people could achieve true wealth if they could develop their agriculture and trade to meet their own needs".  The point Berry is trying to make is that the goal of the villagers was to make as many as possible - similar to sentimental capitalism, and the solution should be to satisfy not the prophet of a supranational corporation and justify it as global free trade or as the villagers were shooting for produce as much as possible, but to focus on satisfying what is important in a local market.  I agree wholly with Berry, it makes total sense to have dependencies locally because in the event of troubles near the plants making supranational goods, the local goods will still be available.  Moreover, the point Berry goes onto make is that it will protect from prices fluctuating up and down - a big company can't corner the market and make things overly expensive if local stores are prevalent.  The competition that comes with small businesses is what will subvert people being taken advantage of - for the gain of big company prophets.
     The Nobel Peace Prize essay I picked was Five Hundred Years of Mayan Oppression by Rigoberta Mencu Tum.  The Nobel speech largely concerned the oppression Native American Mayan civilizations experienced with the coming of the European explorers, as well as the current, albeit 400 year overdue push towards equality.  I firmly agree with Tum that if clashing cultures, i.e. cultures upon/around one another should do anything but wage discrimination and war.  I believe that the benefits of uniting cultures are greater than disparaging one for the gain of another.  I mean, it makes sense because although the two distinct cultures deviate from their entirety, something beautiful comes from their absolution - not only is a new culture created, but in the reasonable way of conflict it's almost inevitable - something that shouldn't be fought but embraced.  Moreover, she goes in depth over she asserts the importance to respect nature for the sake of future generations, "If the world does not learn now to show respect to nature, what kind of future will the new generations have"?  Tum's assertion comes with the reprieve that in order for the continent to function, it must hold the obligations of basically getting along with one another and respecting the natural world around people as if it were a culture of people.  Tum concludes that in order to progress as a society we need to unite and expand with respect for other cultures and the environment, and I wholly agree.