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| Iraq |
| Life In Iraq, Part II: Civilization of Deception |
| 2006-04-29 |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #2 The Saudis were beduin nomads, 2b. The Iraqis were Babylonians and Assyrians, and later ruled by Persia, city dwellers and imperialists all. They lie because in the economic and moral corruption endemic in all the ancient empires, honesty was not a survival trait, just as it is not in the various greater or lesser totalitarianisms of the Middle East today. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-04-29 23:01 |
| #1 great post. I have a theory that the reason they are this way is because they were originally nomadic. Thus there is no benefit in an honest negotiation with a people you will never, ever see again. Best to eek every last cent by lying. Once the guy is gone, your tribe is proud of you for duping the sucker and there is never the payback of someone else doing an honest buisness getting all of the customers. It won't work for them in the modern world where you live in the same place - but Darwin works slowly. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-04-29 17:01 |