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Picking Cultural Nits Instead Of "Lessening Cultural Gaps"

No time to respond properly, but today’s editorial is a beaut. I’ll just take the most egregious bits:

I’m assuming that the ODE is referring to Edward Fitzgerald’s wonderful reworking of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam rather than the 11th century (I think) Persian original – in which case the curious reader unversed in Farsi will learn more about being a Victorian Englishman than a West Bank Palestinian. On the other hand, as they go on to recommend that their vast Middle East readership check out Hamlet, maybe this is part of a broader scheme to have US/Middle East understanding mediated through the literature of an entirely different nation.

However, on a more somber note, the board reminds us:

This is no end in itself, and almost certainly won’t in itself stop catastrophic cultural conflict.

You have to love the “almost”.

Anyway, if you’re reading this and you’re a member of the Emerald editorial board, read through Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. Or A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu. This is no end in itself, and almost certainly won’t stop the hilarity from flowing freely, but it’s a really long book and will hopefully keep you out of mischief for a while.

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