BKM said:
You can't have it both ways, people. Either we are the "good guys," or we are just another evil empire unilaterally acting in the short term interests of our own corporate and military elites. I fear the latter, I want us to be the former.
Actually, as disgusted I am, I think you can have it both ways: I think America does have a history of acting as The Good Guy. And just because there may be other motivations (like oil) involved doesn't mean the moral issues cited are all Political Posturing. In the middle east war in '91, we were the only country that did NOT accept Saudi Arabia's offer to give each individual service member a few thousand dollars for coming to their aid. We turned it down on the idea that we are not mercenaries. I have mixed feelings about that -- plenty of service members could have used that money to cover hardships incurred as a result of the war -- but America does try to shoot for a very high ideal in such situations. We don't always succeed. But I don't know of another country that tries harder.
We live in an imperfect world. Most people really do have an angel sitting one shoulder saying "do the right thing" and a devil sitting on the other saying "look out for number one". Part of that has to do with right hemisphere vs. left hemisphere of the brain -- which I think is the REAL basis for most religious mythology. (long story and OT).
As for the Arab world: unfortunately, I think it
is backwards. But I also think part of that backwardness is rooted in sincere family values which are simply somewhat out of date and out of step with the future direction this world needs to go in. But I also think that any time the world finds itself on the cusp of major change, you will wind up with two factions pulling in opposite directions. With luck, the one that "wins" is the one most suited for emerging realities that never before existed. You can't always tell beforehand which is genuinely "best".
And, frankly, I like being able to walk back and forth between those realities/value systems. They each have something of value to offer. I really hope we (globally) can reconcile the need for family values with the need for fewer children and more empowered moms who are more whole. I think a great deal of evil arises out of the simple fact of a woman being so financially dependent upon her husband if she stays home to do right by her kids. ("Honor killings" are sort of the extreme of that idea -- that a man "owns" a woman because she is financially dependent -- although they are not simply due to that.) And it usually is the woman who does so, for some very basic and practical reasons rooted in biology (but NOT solely determined thereby). But, an extremist position in either direction causes plenty of evil. Families also tend to suffer if neither parent can afford to take some time off for the sake of the family while the kids are little (and I don't necessarily mean "be unemployed/a full time parent for a while"). I am not saying it Dooms a family, just that it also has a cost.
