“Gulf War (4): What
Ever Happened to Civilization?”
Leonard sneaks up on you in this essay. Right when you think
he’s going to write about the transition of the Middle East from ancient
civilization to the cradle of suicide bombers, he turns to argument on it’s
head. Early in the essay he writes, “Two religions are on top of each other, a
third next door, archeologists digging underneath and what they’ve opened is a
vein.”
He leads us through a long (and very interesting) run
through of the regions the turbulent millennia of culture and conflict that and
reminds us “They’ve been throwing rocks at prophets in this desert for 3,000
years. Only the Uzi’s and the napalm are contemporary.”
He concludes by pointing out that most westerners know
almost nothing of the land they are “…bombing back into the stone age.” As if
to ask, who’s the uncivilized party here?
New word: diadems = crown or headband worn by eastern
royalty.
New
learning: “Devout Moslems recognize five types of human behavior. According to
the Koran, an act is obligatory, permitted, neutral, reprehensible or
prohibited. There are no other possibilities.”
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