Because there are so many cultures and tastes, taboos and no-nos, it is hard to please everyone all the time.

The idea of a global village is only possible if you moderate and destroy extremes and train people to have bland taste and safe ideas.

At the fiftieth Anniversary of the U.N. it was a difficult task to try and serve sixty-five heads of states without insulting any.

That meant no shellfish, no pork, no beef and no sauces that included alcohol.

It also meant no white flowers on the tables, because some Asian cultures associate white flowers with funerals. They could not afford for a dignitary to take religious or cultural offense at any ingredient in the hors d’oeuvres.

They couldn’t take the chance that one dignitary might be served his wild-rice-and-wheat berry pilaf before another, and perceive it as an insult. So, what did the caterer end up serving? What do you serve when you don’t want to offend anyone? Chicken.

How appropriate that the Global village, comprised of a society based on the lowest common denominator, so as not to offend . . . is full of . . . chickens. Rather ironic.