Nearly 250 years ago, a significant document was penned and signed. It has inspired people for generations, even though questions persist about the inclusivity of "all men are created equal." Still, the words foster lofty goals.
People who work with GIS use layers to represent the world, and some of us see layers in everything. Layers help us model and understand the complex nature of an environment, no matter the ratio of human or natural factors. We perceive patterns and flows, relationships over space and time. The swells and swales of the land match those of the water, and the air, and the people; all influence everything around them. Day and night, summer and winter, year in and year out, growth and decline, we find rhythms ... systems ... changes ... one thing affects another, which in turn affects the first. Links moving out build a complex web of interactions, whether deep in a tropical rain forest, high in an urban jungle, aloft like birds, or grounded like people. Zoomed in, the individual interactions seem chaotic; zoomed out, resilience appears -- the prey feeds the predator, but the predator keeps the prey strong. Zoomed even farther out, we can see the interaction of many systems moving together, like the murmurations of birds.
But sometimes, a force disrupts the natural order. A comet, tsunami, drought-fed conflagration, random mutation, discovery, revolution, epidemic, war ... systems can sometimes heal, but sometimes the damage is too severe. Those most robust may survive despite tremendous loss, while others disappear forever.
Given the curious quirks of humans, societies have ebbed and flowed over time. One man has stopped a war with just his words and example, while others with a different perspective have started them just that way. What matters most is the heart underpinning a system, the soundness of the structural elements. Absent cataclysm, over time, all parts of a system can adapt, bit by bit, growing more resilient, synergistic, and resplendent.
Building a system with words and ideas takes heart, a structure that embraces, supports, and defends its highest values, and wisdom to grasp the synergy of pluralism, equity, and shared dependence.
On this celebration and remembrance of a daring document with some of humanity's most lofty ideas, may we who use maps pledge to help others see and grasp the layers and systems of our world.
