Letters: As the Spirit Moves

Bob Shacochis's article "Roof of the World, Center of a Universe" (October) evoked many wonderful memories of my 1992 visit to Nepal. As Shacochis experienced a "levitated" Kathmandu atop Swayambhu, a similar feeling occurred for me on the rooftop bar at the nearby Hotel Vajra. As we enjoyed momos and beer at sunset, two-thirds of the city below us blacked out. There was no hysteria, just candles quickly lit. As a pale moon rose over the valley, an outline of distant peaks was visible against the clear sky. Never have I felt such inner peace or been in a more perfect place at a more perfect time.

As a rant, Shacochis's article has certain momentum, but as an exploration of the attractions of and difficulties faced by Nepal, his cynical view of all aid agencies as harmful "do-gooders" needlessly trashes a lot of good people whom Shacochis has never met. Among other things, he childishly denigrates the World Health Organization's efforts to ease suffering and save lives — as if Shacochis were the first person to recognize that population control is a major public health and demographic issue for Nepal. If only passing out birth control pills were the simple solution that he implies! When teenage girls in the richest country in the world can't be taught the effective use of consistent birth control, how can a country of 20 million illiterate subsistence farmers be taught? As for the rest of Shacochis's article, he spends it discussing his own tortured feelings about spirituality and religion. Many people find themselves confronting spiritual issues when they visit Nepal, and Shacochis is no exception. I don't believe that the same desire to explore spirituality occurs as often among visitors to South America, Africa, or the Caribbean. However, in an incredibly ethnocentric dismissal of a billion Hindus' spiritual path, Shacochis reveals a remarkable lack of sensitivity. The closest he is able to come to a spiritual feeling is his appreciation of prayer flags against the Himalayan sky. One finishes his article with a profound sense of "what was the point?"

Bob Shacochis replies: Although I welcome David Shlim's comments on the issues I raised (fairly in my opinion, unfairly in his) regarding the global dynamics of altruism, I'm astonished by what seems to be his enclave mentality. Surely someone in his position recognizes the enormous controversy surrounding foreign aid and developmental questions, whether in Nepal or elsewhere. Perhaps Shlim has yet to read Toni Hagen's Building Bridges to the Third World, whose concerns about aid agencies are echoed in my piece. There are more than a few frauds, parasitic bureaucrats, turf rats, and just plain exhausted idealists in the do-gooder biz, many who can't seem to fathom that their self-righteous actions can indeed have serious consequences, and to the best of my knowledge, Shlim is not one of this lot. On the other hand, Shlim's condescension toward the spirituality of Africans, Latin Americans, and West Indians, and his delicate sensitivity to criticism, however indirect, suggest to me he's better off hunkered down in Kathmandu. Since Shlim missed "the point" of the essay, allow me to spell out the point of this response: Read more carefully.

Faux the Best
Where can I buy tickets for Tad Friend's Disneyland excursion? His essay on scaling the theme park's 147-foot fiberglass Matterhorn ("High Jinx," November) had me howling with laughter. I especially loved the sordid details involving Goofy, Pluto, and poor Captain Hook. Friend may not be up to climbing Everest, but he certainly has a way with words.

Correction: Tim Cahill's misadventure in Mali ("Forbidden," October) was arranged and outfitted by Mountain Travel-Sobek and Lost Frontiers, a fact that somehow never made its way into the final edited story. For more information about travel to Mali, call Mountain Travel-Sobek at 888-687-6235 or Lost Frontiers at 415-455-0942.

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