1\ It is well to ridicule those who dip into the third world for a few instagram moments and come away with a "transformative" experience
So I would like to submit myself for ridicule!
So I would like to submit myself for ridicule!
2\ I flew into Dubai last month to meet, of all people, a Twitter friend
He hired a guide, and we drove into the desert for one of those curated came rides
It was amazing!
He hired a guide, and we drove into the desert for one of those curated came rides
It was amazing!
3\ And it was all the cliches you'd expect
The dry heat was a "force pressing down on you" etc. etc.
But it really was eye opening
Every. Single. Thing. in the desert lives on the knife's edge of existence
The dry heat was a "force pressing down on you" etc. etc.
But it really was eye opening
Every. Single. Thing. in the desert lives on the knife's edge of existence
4\ Of course, that is true everywhere in nature, but in the desert the fact is visually apparent, because desert is 99% nothingness and 1% tenuous existence
5\ Anyway, when you are lurching through a timeless landscape on a dromedary, watching lizards skitter across the dunes, a lot of things click into place:
Chattel slavery, the in-group / out-group dipole, bride price
Chattel slavery, the in-group / out-group dipole, bride price
6\ And oddly, there are many ways you can go with these vignettes:
Relativism: "Every culture is a priceless artifact!"
Presentism: "Modernity is morally superior!"
Realism: "Wow, I'd have owned slaves back then. Thank god I'm alive now!"
Relativism: "Every culture is a priceless artifact!"
Presentism: "Modernity is morally superior!"
Realism: "Wow, I'd have owned slaves back then. Thank god I'm alive now!"
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