“Tunisia: At the
Desert’s Edge”
Hitchens’ 2007 essay on the country of Tunisia. He describes
Tunisia by writing, “… it is here that the crosscurrents between fundamentalism
and cosmopolitanism, syncretism and puritanism, are being most acutely
registered.” He is concerned about this very peaceful, multi-cultural country becoming
another battleground for Al-Qaeda style terrorism. He goes on to write, “This
poses a fairly stark choice. Will the northern littoral of Africa become a zone
of tension, uneasily demarcating a watery yet fiery line between Europe and the
southern continent? Or will it evolve into a meeting place of cultures, trading
freely and cross-fertilizing the civilizations, as it did once before?”
Interestingly, 4 years before the spark of the Arab Spring
was lit in Tunisia, Hitchens points out that a major driver of potential change
will be the future of a government that has been led by 2 “President’s for life”
since its independence from France in 1956.
Of course, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was deposed in the 2011
uprising.
Good quote from Pliny the Elder (Roman author, philosopher,
General, Admiral, etc.)- “Ex Africa
semper aliquid novi” = “The is always something new out of Africa”
Of course Pliny’s main claim to fame is being the namesake
for Russian River Brewing Co.’s Imperial IPA.
New Learning: Roman Emperor Septimius Severus, serving from
193-211 A.D., was of African descent.
New Word: syncretism = amalgamation of different religions,
cultures or schools of thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment