One world, many visions

摘要

On 26 January 1987, Time magazine ran an article in which US presidential candidate George H.W.Bush, replying to the suggestion that he should consider where to take the country, was quoted poking fun at "the vision thing". This was widely ridiculed in the US because it violated the clear expectation of Americans that their leaders have such a "vision". Nothing strange there: most societies expect their leaders to have a view of how they think the future will or should be, and how this defines their duties to those they lead. Vision of one sort or another plays a big role in Upriver by Michael Brown. This is his effort to understand the spiritual and political beliefs and practices of the Awajun people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon at the foothills of the Andes. The book details his research as he lived with them between 1976 and 1978, as well as his later reflections on experiences and observations gained during subsequent visits.