David T Darnell <[log in to unmask]  wrote:

> I can understand "fundamentalists" perspectives, Muslim,
> Christian, Jewish, whatever. There is a lot of biblical text that
> references  the evils of one's culture allowing itself to be
> perverted by outside influences; this may be taken as support for
> an ideology of societal purity.

<SNIP>

> It does not work for a lot of
> cultures because (come on, admit it) western culture is very
> seductive. If your belief system states that humankind is
> corruptible, and there exists an outside corrupting influence,
> then one might want to protect his own culture from that
> influence. Like, it only takes one microbe to give you a disease,
> so perhaps western culture is, to a Muslim, a poison that once
> sipped, tastes like the finest wine. In our Judeo-Christian realm,
> and in Islam, evil seeks to corrupt by temptation and
> rationalization.

<SNIP>

> So my point is, I don't fault Islam in general or Islamic leaders
> or laity for viewing western culture as a pollutant, a poison, or
> an evil. Those cultures did not get the chance up front to deny
> our culture entry into their systems. Once they realized the
> adulterating effects our culture had on theirs, all they could do
> is damage control. Western culture was originally forced upon
> them, and naturally seemed intriguing.

> Disclaimer: nothing I have said herein implies that I approve of
> terrorism or murder; nor does it mean that I approve even of the
> methods used in any of those foreign lands. It only means that I
> can understand the position of the Islamic purist or isolationist,
> and we are damned conceited to say "we didn't force it on them".

Well David,

I hate to poke holes in your thesis with empirical data, but consider this
reality for a minute.  There is at least one people I am aware of in the
United States of America that has lived here since the "beginning" that has
NOT been lured into our modern day "Western culture".  They do NOT use
electricity in their homes, they do NOT watch television or listen to the
radio, and they do NOT drive automobiles.  These people are called the
Amish.

The big difference between these people and the repressive cultures you are
talking about is that the Amish actually CHOOSE to live their life the
"plain" way.  This choice is freely made by every young man and woman when
they come of age.  During the young children's lives the parents bring them
into contact with the rest of society.  They are not isolated on some
mountaintop or desert.  And the Amish people know about their neighbors
from outside of their community.  We freely buy and sell goods between our
people all the time.

So, I wonder just how deeply the level of commitment is of these "other"
folks who believe that modern Western society is a corrupting, debilitating
influence on their culture.  From where I live I can see that decent
peace-loving people CANNOT be turned into cold-blooded murderers if they
truly have God in their hearts.

In conclusion, I don't buy for a moment these other cultures' claims that
the Western world has corrupted them.  They are just using it as an excuse
for their deplorable behavior.

Just my thoughts on this subject,

John Hornberger

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