The Internet is settling into its phylogenic adolescence and, with the help of Google, realizing some of its potential. As it takes its place among us and we become slowly inured to its wonders, it is worth noting how it's doing as one of the newer members of team earth.

It is, of course, doing well. The media gushed over its democratizing powers when it first arrived, but was quick to recant when it realized what that really meant: media sharing, an end to unreasonable profits and uncomfortable populists like Howard Dean re-invigorating what television had so effectively stomped out: grassroots politics.

The Internet is doing those "the world's a smaller place," "everyone is empowered" things that were predicted but, more interestingly and with less fanfare, it is doing them very much within the framework of some of the oldest inhabitants of that shrinking world. Its success is comparable to that of an ant-colony, that ultimate achievement of an animal that I am still surprised has not taken over the planet.

A colony of ants, in all their nano- glory, act as one efficient if sometimes chaotic animal. In swapping Tom Jones songs or raising money for mavericks, the Internet grinds forward in a similar fashion, a harmonious dance between countless people and computers. Just as with any evolving creature, there are branches of the family tree that lead nowhere, but in the end the Internet and the ants become better and better at what they do, even as the individual members lose sight of the big picture.

Like any successful animal, the Internet has the key to its own replication within. Search it for "HTML tutorial" and the Internet will return half a million maps of its own genome, handing over its digital DNA for all of us to disseminate. Any mating of a computer and a person gives birth to more Internet, another genetic permutation, another step closer to perfecting the planet's newest species.

Were you scared? What were the toilets like? Was there running water? Do those kids really have flies on their faces? These are the questions I get when asked about my time working with AIDS orphans in Southern Africa. I wonder how much our misconceptions and ignorance about Africa contribute to our country's lack of support and aid. There is no doubt that crime, famine, civil war, HIV/AIDS, and malaria plague Africa. We've all read the occasional story in the paper, and seen the Oprah specials that somehow manage to romanticize the poverty and sickness in Africa. We are all left teary-eyed, yet comforted by our one-dollar pledge. We will all sleep fine tonight.

Our perceptions of Africa as the dusty, poverty-stricken unknown are heightened by this stereotype-bound media picture. While the job of the press is to report on catastrophes, is it not possible that Americans could be motivated to care more if they knew something about the good in Africa? Where are the specials and newspaper articles on the potential of Africa, the rich culture, the lush and fertile land, the traditions?

HIV/AIDS is destroying families, wiping out villages, and eating away at Thembo, the fly-infested child who we watch on our 18-inch TV screens. This type of media attention; however, is not initiating any sort of effective movement to provide aid to those in need. Why, then, are we not doing more? Is the problem too big? Too far away from home? Too uncomfortable? As an American traveling through Southern Africa, I was an anomaly. People regularly assumed I was Canadian or British. "It's just that we don't often get American tourists." As an American planning a trip to Southern Africa my intentions are questioned by other Americans. "Why would you go there?" "Is it safe?" Are we afraid of the unknown or are we just too complacent? Our absence as travelers is coupled with our absence as aid-givers. The United States has provided only a tenth of what might be expected for a superpower, wealthy nation to give to the global fund to fight HIV/AIDS.

The legacy of colonization in African countries continues to shape the continent and so many of our stereotypes. When colonizers first set foot in Africa hundreds of years ago - its primitive, untamed wonder quickly became known to the world. Africa's wild, untouched land attracted people seeking adventure. Our perceptions today do not appear too dissimilar from early colonizers'. Africa continues to elicit fascination. Those who do travel to Africa seem to be searching for something (an enlightenment in one's own personal life or perhaps answers to the perceived mystery of why exactly we are so fascinated - yet scared, of Africa) not unlike the colonizers' quest. Africa has become synonymous with its stereotyped characteristics. Media and our misguided fascination reinforce these images. So, as a result, we keep writing and reading the same stories.

Now, we have an opportunity to positively exploit this fascination. We have a responsibility to change people's perceptions of Africa. Rather than dwelling on the negative, let us shed light on the positive. The power that comes along with positivity will first inspire and motivate us to change our perceptions. From there, it is up to each individual what they chose to do with this new awareness/enlightenment. It may mean providing aid or it may mean visiting a place they never before considered. In the field of positive psychology, it is the aim to identify, and then foster factors which motivate people and communities to thrive. This is done by capitalizing on the good. Rather than only focusing on an individual's depression, a Positive Psychologist might focus on a patient's achievements or future aspirations. The theory is that people are more motivated to change by exploring the positive, rather than the negative.

What would happen if we were told new stories about Africa? would that make people more comfortable, more motivated, and more willing to help? What about a story on Ubuntu? Such an article could explain how the African concept of Ubuntu unites people through a common love, community and acceptance. It would go on to explain how Nelson Mandela embodied the qualities of Ubuntu during his negotiations with the National Party of South Africa to end apartheid. Or maybe we'd watch a new Oprah special on the country of Botswana. A country never dirtied by war and one that provides antiretroviral therapy to anyone in need. The Sunday Times might have a series on African patriotism. Each week a new country would be highlighted. The writer would eloquently illustrate the people's pride in their country which they share, and quietly, yet openly express. The writer may ask his readers to question our own patriotism. A curious reader may consider his own patriotism in a new light. By describing Botswana's patriotism as quiet, some Americans may consider their own patriotism as quite the opposite. With the increasing numbers of American flags, bumper stickers paying tribute to our soldiers and our current administration- patriotism in the United States can never be described as quiet or covert. This story might evoke a new perception of the land and its people we are so afraid of and at the same time cause us to question the nature of our patriotism. That same writer, now, may write accurate articles that do little more than elicit and reinforce our stereotyped views of Africa. This article, like many others, may cause us all to shed some tears, but does it motivate us to do anything?

After telling people about my experience in Southern Africa, the almost unanimous responses are either pertaining to how I coped (or didn't) with the non-western lifestyle and, oh how sad it must have been, pitying both the children and me for having had to see such horrific things. No one has asked about the availability of medicine. No one has asked if it's true what they say about the beauty of the African sky. It's true.

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