The English in Cambodia is incredibly good and I had several lengthy and enlightening discussions on separate occasions with two different tuk-tuk drivers and one amphetamine-addled prostitute that sat at our table for an hour outside the minimart in town. Cambodians, the ones we met, seemed to like the USA and are less aware of our problems than their own for the obvious reason that theirs are the ones that could more easily kill them. Poverty and small scale corruption reign and the sliding dollar is causing a devastating inflation in the cities, but we explained that our corruption was there too, just a different kind. Good and bad everywhere. Nowhere perfect. Oddly a refreshing change of pace to have to insist upon this side of it as opposed to trying to talk drunk Europeans down from their very high and America-hating horse. Fuck you horse. You think you're the cat's peejays? Europe has clearly never had any problems with supremacy. At one point last night, Alfie had a particularly disparaging Swiss guy by his designer t-shirt shouting, "Where's your style come from!?" I think it was his birthday.
I don't like most of the modern culture that America offers, but to deny it offers anything? I'm the first to admit America's vast and seemingly intractable problems - ok, second to Alfie - but I reject the impulse to swing too far either way. America has contributed and will continue to contribute a lot to the world, good and not so. So has everybody. So will they continue. We're all slaves to the perception and actuality of our homeland. You don't have to be a dick about it.
How many times can I beat this dead horse? I'm taking a break for a while. I need to collect my thoughts and find a way. I've been reading - among other things - Susan Sontag's collection of essays called "On Photography." If you are an aspiring photographer I do not recommend it. I now have to do battle with a strong and persisting suspicion that photography is dead and that we all killed it, just like Nietzsche's god. Drowning in an ocean of images gradually zapped of their potency through over-exposure. She thought this in the 70's. That was, like, way before Facebook I think. For better or worse, it's like music for me now. I'm no expert but I can't stop. I'll continue to post photos when I think they're worth sharing and thoughts when they won't let me sleep at night. I'll have a phone and a number again soon. I'll be back in the USA. We should talk.
Thank you for reading this, particularly those who have followed with a dedication that has humbled, delighted and actually concerned me a little bit you fucking crazy stalker freaks, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
Yet, you've made this trip more than it would have been. You've inspired me to consider and report on what I bumped into, if only to keep you from getting bored. Funny how I've learned as much about America and Europe as I have about any of the places I've visited. Distance and perspective breed understanding and contempt.
Especially thank you to my manajar Alfie, and to Brawn, my Brooklyn-bodyguard. A lot of my posts were doctored amalgamations of conversations I've had with the two of them over the last two months and I am in debt to their insight and knowledge, both. I hope I've been the right amount of honest.
Let it shine.
-Isaac
Location:Bangkok, Thailand
