20161130 (cross-cultural)

US Army officer sets fire to hut in suspected Viet Cong stronghold 

What’s a house? For some a dry

Cardboard large appliance box under

An overpass will do. Others cannot

Manage unless the stable shelters

At least one horse. If we all had to

Live in the same house type what

Would be the minima? Separate

Bedroom? Bathroom? Kitchen?

Ceiling high enough to allow

Comfortable standing? Cabinets?

Closets? Looking at the “Tiny

House” movement doesn’t settle

The matter. There’s lots of variety

In what some consider necessary

As well as what is tiny. People

Have been known to camp—

Some in tents, some in cabins.

At my age staying in an air-

Conditioned motel suite with

Cooking facilities is about the

Least I’ll tolerate for camping—

And no more than a week at a time.

Crossing the Alps beside Hannibal 

With a sheepskin to shield me from

The snow has long ago lost its

Appeal. Sorry, Caesar, et alii. 

It hasn’t been all that long 

Since our ancestors lived daily

Without the indoor plumbing 

That brought fresh household 

Water and a warm place to poop.

Funny how quickly we acclimate

(Great word choice) to things like

A/C, power windows, GPS, and

Internet. “I want my instant

Gratification, and I want it now!

Watching a film like Slumdog 

Millionaire quickly reminds us 

Of how many of humanity still

Struggle for basics we take for 

Granted. Yet we are nowhere

Near the spectral extreme of 

Wealth. I think back to watching

The Viet Cong wearing black

Loincloths while defending the

Thatched huts that were the

Homes of the people. American 

Soldiers shooting at them as 

If across a cultural divide would

Soon be returning (if they were 

Lucky) to homes considerably

More comfortable—lavish if not

Palatial by comparison. The same

Is true today in Afghanistan, Iraq,

Syria, Yemen, Somolia, and wherever

Else the military sends its Special

Forces. These combatants do not

Live in the same world. Can either 

One understand for what the other 

Is fighting? Thatched huts and 

Molded mud rooms have nothing

In common with split-level ranches

And frost-free refrigerators. Nobody

Should be killing someone they 

Can’t possibly understand.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016