So, Brazil's National Museum is burning,
firefighters arrive, hook up their hoses to fire hydrants, and lo, the hydrants
don't work.
Making sure that fire hydrants work is a cultural
thing. You know that when you
start guessing the chances of a fire hydrant not working in Germany or Sweden
or Scotland or — I won't go on; start in the north and work south, then go to
other continents. Some functionary
at the bottom of the hierarchy feels miserable if he doesn't make his
semi-annual check. That's part of
certain cultures, making functionaries feel miserable and guilty to the point
of ulcers and complexes and national lamentations over what we're doing to our
sweet children. Oh the twisted
psyches. For what?
For museums standing with their precious contents on display for
students to learn from and love.
For a population that can govern itself, and hold together, and get things
done long-term. That takes guilt
and probably ulcers and turns the carefree children of the warm south into such an
attractive alternative — until their governments fall apart and their museums
burn down.
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