Okay.
New York City is to Americans one of the most important cities in contemporary society. Granted. If it were obliterated, your life and my life would be seriously affected, yours probably more than mine because of proximity and the interconnectedness of New York and Washington, but mine also for a variety of reasons, not least that many of the books I enjoy reading depend on people in New York for their existence.
But to a bushman in the Kalihari, New York might as well not exist. It is hard to see how his world would change much if New York were suddenly obliterated. So to him, it is far less important than the next village over.
So to some people New York is important, and to other people it is not.
Indeed, to the leadership in Iraq the destruction of New York would probably be a blessing, as long as they weren't blamed, because it would certainly distract our attention from war on Iraq. So to them, it's important, but in a whole different sense. |
