February Monthly Blog

Okay it looks like this can only be written in HTML for some reason on school computers, so hope this works. Anyway, this monthly blog's main focus is going to be the changing culture in the middle east, including Afghanistan and Iran. The point I would like to prove is that times have changed in many ways since this book was written even, never mind the differences between now and the Cold War era. This connects to the A Thousand Splendid Suns book which we read in that times have changed. Ever since the events of Arab Spring in Egypt and elsewhere, the culture of the Middle East has changed drastically in the western end of the region. Many of the old fundamentalist laws and ways are starting to disappear. Many countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and others are embracing the changes of these laws in favor of a more liberal (although highly conservative by our standards) approach. More liberal, westernized countries such as Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Kuwait have already embraced such changes over the past few decades and continue to do so today. Afghanistan is finding itself more and more liberated from Taliban rule (although with the withdrawal of U.S. forces, this freedom is not likely to last), and with their newfound freedom are starting to embrace changes, particularly in gender differences regarding the proper actions of women in the country. I think that it is good that these countries are embracing a slightly more liberal mindset, but I do not think that they should ever consider a completely American system of rules and laws. Right now it isnt even doing us any favors, and we're the ones who invented it. The Middle East is a naturally tense region with many ethnicities and nations conflicting on a day-to-day basis, including the ever-present threat of nuclear war from Iran. These countries need a firm, but gentle hand to lead them into the 21st century. Some changes in laws are good, but to go too far would cause even more chaos than exists now, and this would likely lead to multiple wars in the region.