The Roots of Afghanistan and America

In reading Afghan Hearts & Minds, I started to introspect about the differences between Afghan culture and American culture. The most striking variable that challenged my mind to think deeper was the span and depth of Afghan culture as compared to American culture. American culture has a mythical basis: every day, and every where in America, culture is making dramatic adaptations. I cannot say that America is the "melting pot" that it is, because Americans don't assimilate with other countries' cultures as readily as we might idealize. But there is a definite looseness and fragility to its roots, of which can be severed with a swift turn of immigrant populations or social policy.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, despite its vast amount of experience with other cultures trying to barge their way through the country to forge a new ideal, keeps close to its tough roots. Its pride in its land is ancient, and it takes its primary principles very seriously.

For all we know, America could be entirely different culturally in just ten years. Afghanistan, though, will most likely remain culturally intact for the next one-hundred years.