What If the Axis of Evil Served You Watermelon?

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” — Mark Twain 

Samuel Clemens, the master of irony, wrote this during his “Grand Tour” around the Mediterranean in the late 1800s. It’s a truism that doesn’t always stick — not everyone becomes wiser through travel. But even for the most seasoned travelers, the road can still deal out unexpected lessons in humility.
In this week’s Camino a Ítaca, I revisit one of those personal lessons — a journey through Iran that served up reality in heavy, humbling doses. As the war drums beat louder and popular narratives cast everyone in ancient Persia as villains from that awful 300 movie, Twain’s words feel more urgent than ever.
Click through to read the longer English version in Counterpunch or read the version in Spanish over at HOY. (PDF en castellano abajo)