You make some good points, Lyle..... but this isn't one of them. You're saying it's not "just jobs", not "just money", not "getting away from war", because people would've moved long ago since "things haven't changed much in the Middle East." So is it to flee to a "better culture" then? Has THAT changed? If anything, jobs, money, and war are far more fluid things than culture in a society.... and would tend to favor my point that people of other cultures probably see their own as better.
My "premise" ISN'T that it's "SUCH a problem", Lyle. My premise is that in our culture, those groups are tolerated and given the right to exist freely. The only intervention is when a crime is committed.... sort of a "close the barn door after the horse is gone" type of approach. Don't look at it from your biased point of view, which is understandable given that you've lived all your life in this culture. Look at it the way maybe another culture would look at it. Freedom-shmeedom. These groups preach hate, divisiveness, and superiority of one group over others. They scheme, plot, and thanks to the famous 2nd Amendment (another point where other cultures might take exception).... are ever ready to take matters into their own hands.
Here's where I'll surprise you and agree you've got a good point. (My willingness to see others' points of view is astounding, I know). I was taken aback by that, and looked it up (not that I don't trust you). Yeah..... that's a major arguing point against that particular culture, since this is basically government-endorsed. All I'll say is that Palestine-Israeli hate is up there in stratospheric levels somewhere.
I see nothing wrong or contradictory about my statement. I specifically said I compare Islamic extremists to extremists in other cultures, and find the Islamic extremists a million times worse. I make that comparison based on specific actions, which get splashed across the headlines. The closest example to that in Western civilization would be McVeigh, who brought down a whole building based on his hate.
But this is different than comparing cultures themselves. Every culture has decent, upstanding citizens, who truly believe their beliefs and customs are the right way to live. I still hesitate to use the word "better" to compare cultures. The day I live in each culture for a year or so, and experience what they experience..... THEN.... maybe I'd feel qualified to use that word. Till then I'll just say "different."
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