The Battle of the Cultures rages on.

I myself voted "impossible to answer conclusively" and if I had to vote again, I'd vote the same thing. Simply put, I think the atrocities we see on TV and splashed across the headlines are abhorrent behaviors, even to those from the same culture. What we get fed through the eyeballs are the extremists who take advantage of situations to further their "cause." The question was a tough one to answer, admittedly. It's easy enough to press the TRUE button, given what we see every day.

Most of the argument points have to do with culture's treatment of women. It's true that in most Western cultures we are more advanced in the treatment of women as equals. But it seems we've all come from the same place. Women in "civilized" cultures were at one time seen as 2nd-class citizens, denied basic rights under the law. In Islamic countries, women's rights haven't changed all that much. But I can't believe the true nature of a people, no matter where they live, applauds the abuse, torture, or humiliation of women. Again... we're not talking opportunistic extremists. We're talking the core of the culture itself.

I think the word "better" is the incendiary word here. Maybe it would be more fair to say "advanced." "Better" just sounds too judgmental, and none of us has really lived in all these different cultures enough time to make sound judgments.

Supposedly modern, advanced cultures may be gaining ground on women's rights... but many of them ironically have a long way to go in other areas, such as race. It seems sad to me that it still takes government regulations and interventions, most of them inadequate and ill-aimed, to force people to view everyone else as equals.

Basically it boils down to the old "glass walls" adage. Not good at sayings, but it's something about not throwing stones if you have glass walls in your own house.