[quote=SK in CV]
A bit of ethnocentrism has leaked out. By whose standards are you measuring “culturally advanced”?[/quote]
My own. You imply that that isn’t good enough, but is there another standard I should use instead? Yours? I wouldn’t have any desire to stone someone to death for adultery, or rape a child, which gives me the ability to know an animal when I see one. I don’t judge their personalities or their buildings or their food, only their behavior, which for many of them is not civilized by any definition of the word.
[quote]Do you have a clue what that area of the world looks like? Have you ever been to the middle east?[/quote]
Yes, the study of the history of the area is a hobby of mine, when I was in school and after. And yes, being an amateur archaeologist, I chose Cairo and the surrounding areas over getting high in Amsterdam. I’m being kind when I call it a cesspool. It’s the nastiest place I’ve ever seen, and it’s apparently not bad compared to some others.
[quote]So if “culturally advanced” means modern cities with indoor plumbing, then the middle east is as advanced as any other part of the world. If it means something else, then the subjectivity of any measurement makes it moot.[/quote]
Look up the word “culture”. Plumbing is an insignificant part of it. Shiny new office buildings do not automatically make the occupants civilized.
You’re right, measuring cultural advancement is subjective, but that definitely does not make it moot. Are you really going to argue that sexual and other violent crimes are okay as long as they’re committed in a society which tolerates them?
[quote]Beyond that, are you aware that there are significantly MORE Muslims living outside the middle east than in that area? There are somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion Muslims in the world. Are they all culturally backwards, or just those that reside in the middle east?[/quote]
I was referring to the source of much of the problem, which is the middle east. I believe I was also clear that the vast majority of muslims wouldn’t consider terrorism, and I never said that ALL muslims are culturally backwards. I also never claimed that we’re culturally perfect, but on average culturally and morally superior than many parts of the middle east? Do you honestly think otherwise?
[quote]Captain Jingo rides again. Put another quarter in the electric bull.[/quote]
Why is it that liberals have to be so goddamn condescending? I mean seriously, is it some kind of brain wiring issue?
