Ep. 28 — For The Culture (Part I)

"You've got boys flying kites again..." -George W. Bush About: Oh, the privilege. And what a privilege it is to publish a story about the broader theme of culture and identity, specifically for Afghanistan's diaspora living in the States, like those on that third-culture-wave, when Afghans from the home country are left dealing with far harsher realities.

 
“You have boys flying kites again in Afghanistan”
— George W. Bush
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About

Rumi is a tricky one.

The poet was born in modern-day-Afghanistan, yet Iranians and Turks, respectively, claim he is theirs.

And White folks? They’ve already co-opted his 13th-century Islamic poetry for a woo-woo wave of 21st-century wellness and online spirituality spread mercilessly over Instagram and Pinterest.

But Rumi never claimed to be Afghan (or in his case, someone from Khorasan). In one of his more popular poems, he writes, in verse*: 

I am not from India, nor China, nor Bulgaria, nor Turkestan;

I am not from the kingdom of the two Iraqs, nor from the earth of Khurasan.

Neither of this world, nor the next, I am, nor of Heaven, nor of Hell

When three different countries fight over a dead poet, there’s clearly some sort of insecurity behind the social posturing. Or maybe Rumi just had the foresight to avoid the whole being tied to your national identity thing? What if he thought there was just more to life? Or perhaps he had predicted a feud over his national identity would take place many centuries after his passing and just opted to avoid the whole thing as a just in case?

But not everyone is as lucky. Oh, the privilege. 

And what a privilege it is to publish a story about the broader theme of culture and identity, specifically for Afghanistan’s diaspora living in the States, like those on that third-culture-wave, when Afghans from the home country are left dealing with far harsher realities.

The diaspora’s dilemma pales in comparison (if you’re that foolish to try and compare the two) to their dilemma. No less, it is still a dilemma.

With that in mind, Part I of this multi-part story dives into that nebulous question...what does it really mean to be Afghan? Really, what does it mean to be from anywhere?

This is a tricky one.

Show Notes: 

  1. [00:45] “The Layers of Heaven” by Jovica

  2. [02:15] “I Know A Way Through” by Phillip Ayers

  3. [03:30] “Afghan National Anthem”

  4. [06:05] 2010 Census data on the number of Afghans in America 

  5. [07:10] More on the Kalacha

  6. [07:50] “Don’t Say No” by Mike Franklin

  7. [08:40] Light reading on Flushing

  8. [08:50] Light reading on the local soccer club scene

  9. [12:05] “Burnin’ Things” by Mike Franklin

  10. [14:35] Light reading on Rumi

  11. [16:55] More reading on consumerism and American culture

    1. Here

    2. Here

    3. Here

    4. Here

    5. Here

  12. [19:05] More on Jamil Jan Kochai (@jamiljankochai)

  13. [19:20] Light reading on Logar, Afghanistan

  14. [19:45] “Khaista Logar De” 

  15. [20:05] Afghanistan by Mohammad Hassan Kakar

  16. [21:45] “Antidote X” by Van Sandano

  17. [21:45] George W. Bush announcement of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan on Oct 7, 2001

  18. [21:50] President George W. Bush’s comments in December 2008

  19. [22:25] President Barack Obama’s comments on drone strikes in 2013

  20. [23:00] President Donald Trump comments on US Afghan war in 2019

  21. [23:45] Rory Stewart’s two-part documentary series: Afghanistan: The Great Game 

  22. [24:30] John Rambo’s history lesson of Afghanistan in Rambo III

  23. [28:30] “Desert Hideout” by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

  24. [31:00] “Wandering Soul” by Gabriel Lewis

  25. [31:10] Light reading on the rise of the median home price vs the median household income

  26. [31:20] Light reading on the increase of the cost of education

  27. [31:30] Light reading on the rising cost of healthcare over the past few decades

  28. [32:19]  “Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” by Jamil Jan Kochai

  29. [32:25] Light reading on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

  30. [33:10] “The Early Eagle” by Jon Sumner

  31. [35:25] Shout out to the prologue

  32. [38:10] Light reading on Dari vs Farsi

  33. [38:15] Light reading on the attan

  34. [39:45] “Nysnö” by Sandra Marteleur

  35. [40:00] Light reading on the history of slavery in the U.S.

  36. [41:15] Light reading on 

  37. [43:25] “Mountain Solitude” by Moorland Songs

  38. [44:00] The second-coming of the Bamiyan Buddhas 

  39. [44:15] “Good words, good thoughts and good deeds.”

  40. [45:10] John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction