Dan from Optus: your country means nothing

There is a major phone company here in Australia called Optus. Optus has been putting adverts up in shopping centres written in Arabic, hoping to appeal to that demographic. Some of the locals complained and were then given little "lessons" in diversity by an Optus representative called Dan. Dan is now a hero on the left for doing so - he is being hailed as an anti-racist etc.

Dan, however, is far from being the complete man. He told one customer, in defence of the Optus advertisements:

What are countries other than lines on a map?

Dan is not deep, not when it comes to really appreciating national diversity. For him, nations are just lines on a map. He is an outsider to national culture, and yet he is very ready to lecture others on the issue. Better for him just to be honest and say "I am numb to all this, I don't have it in me, it's not something that I can appreciate, I am just an outside observer."

What I am trying to say, in a nutshell, is that Dan has outed himself as being decultured - at least in the sense of identifying with a cultural tradition of his own; of having a love for it; of seeking its preservation; and of wanting to add to it. And this represents a loss in life. It is not something to be admired or wished for, but a loss of part of the emotional richness of life and a loss of part of our human identity, one that links us closely to people and place and to generations past and present.