One Nation, Slightly Divisible

After viewing the Sixty Minutes special on the story of Dubai and its success, I was absolutely blown away. Within seven years, it went from an unknown, desolate desert in the middle-east to a full-blown city with endless tourist attractions and man made beach fronts as far as the eye can see. The fact that one man’s visions and dreams came became reality so quickly, is truly mind boggling.

To me, the most interesting part of the video was watching this leader of Dubai casually walking around his country, fearing nothing, with no security guards or military personnel around to make sure his safety was not at risk. It would be a rare sight seeing the President of the United States trying to accomplish this same task in his everyday life. The other part of the video I thought was ineffable is how everything they created, or assembled, is a paramount of their power and wealth. From their man made bodies of land in the shape of palm trees, to a building doubling the height of the Empire State Building, to their indoor ski resorts and the largest shopping mall ever established, not to mention their underwater hotels, are all examples of the affluence and power. It’s all a huge shock to me, and I had no idea this was going on in Dubai.

The part of the video that I didn’t like was the second half of the documentary where it showed how all of these extraordinary conceptions were being achieved. I realize that we have had a few discussions in class regarding how the men laboring twelve hours a day are getting paid more than if they were working else where, I just think a wealthy country like this should at least have a set minimum wage and proper housing to compensate them for helping build their empire.

In conclusion, I think Dubai has really stepped up in the last decade. I did a little more research outside of the 60 Minutes documentary, and I read that the oil of Dubai only accounted for ten percent of