Blogging

I went to a lecture today with Jeffrey Cole and Duy Linh Tu. They are digital media experts, the former as director of the USC Center for a Digital Future and the latter as a consultant and professor at the Columbia School of Journalism. As a "blogger" in the UAE, the lecture made me think deeply about the frequently cited "limits to journalism" in the UAE and how such limits might relate to the content I decide to feature on the Pearl of Dubai. Am I intimidated to criticize aspects of the UAE? Is there something subconscious at work steering me away from more controversial content or opinions? Perhaps. The UAE is an imperfect work in progress, abeit a wildly successful one as compared to many of its developing cohorts. But the way I see the big picture of this, the larger problem rests with Americans, not Emiratis. For starters, you just don't see Americans here. If Dubai is such a tourist destination and if people are really so intrigued by Vanity Fair's musing about this "capitalist skyline on steroids," then where are the Americans? And if they aren't here, you can be sure they aren't in Amman, Cairo or Saudi. We are at this point where our president speaks in grand terms about the future of the Middle East, yet there aren't civilians here to engage with local customs and people and establish the kind of cross-cultural understanding that will ultimately alleviate some of the tensions we face today. So come on people. Instead of the Caribbean this winter, give the Middle East a try (or maybe start with Dubai to get your feet wet). And that applies to all you liberal New Yorkers as well who sit around and complain about the Bush administration's policies towards the Middle East. Anyone?