A Different Drummer

A place that weirdly fascinates and disgusts me at the same time, Dubai is definitely somewhere I could read and argue about for a long time. Seth Stevenson has written a brilliant piece on the city in the sand for Slate magazine - check it out, it hits all the notes just spot on....

"....There is profound wackiness afoot here. But I wonder: Is something more interesting happening, too? Because I can't help but find reason for hope in this crass spectacle. The cultures that produced Dubai and Las Vegas surely must have something in common. If the Arab world's starry-eyed dreams are just like ours—full of schlock, gluttony, and elaborate theme hotels—perhaps we can get along after all.

I'm not saying that out-of-control capitalism will defuse the clash of civilizations. But I'm eager to find out what it looks like when Islam gets mixed up with reckless expansion and tacky greed. These are the sorts of ambitions the West has no difficulty understanding."

Read it all....