CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

As though we need any more information to demonstrate how little Americans know about the middle eastern cultures, an article appeared today in BBC News.

Last Updated: Monday, 3 March 2008, 16:57 GMT

Iranian to pay 124,000-rose dowry

An Iranian court has ordered a man to give his wife the 124,000 roses that he promised in her dowry, after she filed a complaint to claim it, reports say. The husband said he could only afford to give five roses a day. The woman said she was claiming the dowry because her "very stingy husband" would not even pay for a cup of coffee, according to the E'temad newspaper. The court has seized the man's flat until he produces all of the roses. Under Iranian law, a woman can claim her dowry, or mahr, at any time during a marriage or when getting divorced. The gift becomes the property of the wife to do whatever she likes with. It is required in order for the marriage contract and the marriage itself to be valid. You may read the rest of the article, if you wish. "Culture, a shared set of traditions, belief systems, and behaviors, is shaped by history, religion, ethnic identity, language, and nationality, among other factors. The Middle East consists of approximately 20 countries, with many different religions and a variety of ethnic and linguistic groups. Given this diversity, we should not be surprised to find a multitude of different cultures coexisting in the region." Far fewer Americans would have been killed and maimed, lives ruined as well as those of their children and loved ones, had the Administration used good sense in learning who they were out to conquer. In the greedy rush to gain control of the oil in Iraq (that was supposed to pay for the war, according to Wolfowitz His current profile , to anyone who is aware of his past judgments, does not look as good as his rhetoric) destroyed far more than they could have gained. The unprepared planners would have us believe they 'saved' us rather than destroying our country's reputation, economy, trust in leadership, infrastructure, educational resources, and other necessities here in the US. It is difficult to comprehend that there are still those in the US who haven't noticed that the Emperor wears no clothes. Will the great nation we once could be proud of ever return to its former state? The patient is too ill to recover in my lifetime, I fear.