by sleepy 27 Replies latest jw friends
I'm sure I'm opening up a can of worms here, but I don't think the west should be blamed entirely for the problems of the rest of the world.
Agreed. Most of the problems faced by "the rest of the world" have always existed. Capitalism, technology and democracy have eradicated most of those problems in the "west". If the other countries adopted the same principles of freedom, then most likely they would be able to solve their problems too.
Silferleaf and funkyderek,
Capitalism, technology and democracy have eradicated most of those problems in the "west". If the other countries adopted the same principles of freedom, then most likely they would be able to solve their problems too.
I agree. Several Asian countries have done just that. But then you see the United States going into protection mode because these progressive countries pose an economic threat.
Yes, politics and fundy religion are very much to blame in the poor countries. But desperate people lean on these institutions. Frustrated people support revolutionary movements which result in radical governments. Fundamentalist religion applies the spiritual salve to their pain with a message of hope through revolution, sometimes through terrorism.
Seems to me the first things to do is relieve the frustration. But the frustration is only increased when they see they have nothing and we have everything. Then when they bite our ankles we hit them over the head with a base ball bat.
I'm not saying the western world has handled things entirely wrong. I just feel we have not addressed the heart of the problem, which is in part how THEY PERCEIVE US.
Jst2laws
No, but neither are they the light of the world as some would like to belive.
I guess a useful comparison would be with households or individuals.
Are people who are well off, have a good job eveil or have they worked hard for their money? It could be either.
Likewise, is a poor familly poor because they are disadvantaged or because they are lazy and won't work or mismanage their finances? Again ... it could be either.
There are probably examples of both within each type of country. The West has benefitted from some significant technological innovation (going back a couple of hundred years at least) but perhaps we were just lucky to 'get there first'.
Some countries do seem to want to pull up the ladder behind them though and don't seem to acknowledge the responsibility they have when it comes to environmental issues and such.
I feel pretty good about what we (Western Nations/US) have done and what we have offered. There is no community in the world, that I know of, that doesn't have people in the USA sending money home. In a lot of countries that is their major source of income. I would imagine that is true of any western nation with a large immigrant population working there.
The selfish ones are those who leave those countries to get an education and are supposed to go back but instead stay and make the money. So many of our doctors in the US are now foreign, many from countries in desperate need of doctors. I think this is symptomatic of the attitude of the countries.
I think the western nations are held to a much, much higher standard than the other rich nations of the world are. I wonder how much food Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are sending to the starving African nations? I just heard Bush is promising billions which I don't think we can afford right now with everything else on our plate. I imagine England is giving substantial amounts.
How much do other more affluent African states give? How about South Africa? Everything I hear is that they are SELLING them food, not donating. I also read that these starving nations have sold and are still selling food for cash to other nations.
Grunt
Grunt
Western lands have gleefully exploited the worlds resources over the past 200 years.
Did you know that North America strips the earth of fossil fuels 110,000 times faster than it takes the earth to produce them?
Looks like in a few more hundred years, we'll all be living in caves again - if we haven't burnt ourselves to a crisp first...
My feeling is that yes, perhaps there are quite a few people in the more affluent cultures, who waste and squander.
But, it is also true that we are also very generous and willing to share. The affluent cultures became that way because they worked hard for it. It wasn't handed to them on a platter.
We cannot help the culture that we were born into. We strive to have the things that we feel make us safe and healthy, and yes, lots extra for fun. We have our homes, our cars, our clothes, our food, our health care, and on and on. But, we work very hard for these things. The opportunities have been presented, and they have been grabbed up. There is nothing wrong with that.
It is really unfair to compare cultures. There are many who could not live like we do, and would not want to. People want to have their own way to do things, and cultures differ for that reason. It is not always about money.
As with everything regarding the societies of men, there has been no book recorded to let us know how best to care for this planet. Therefore, we have done our damage to it along the way. I don't believe this is entirely our fault. Once we realize the damage, we do try to do things to fix it. Granted, some things are beyond fixing, but do we have control anyway?
I believe that all things are working towards a conclusion that we do not understand. Only our creators of the universe understand the whole plan.
So, to answer the question. In my opinion No, Westerners are not the evil of the world.
Sentinel
Wow, some of the most ridiculous comments ever (even beating out You Knows best)...
Folks, America spends billlions each year giving to poor countries. Sometimes,
when we're really nice, we'll even send soldiers to shit-holes like Somalia where they can get shot at for
distributing rice to hungry somalis.
I talked to a Vietnam refugee once. She said the most amazing thing about America was the Salvation Army.
She couldn't believe an organization existed solely to distribute food/clothing/housing and job opportunities.
Does the Salvation Army exist in Vietnam? Think again
We use a lot of resources. We pollute the environment. These are things we need to work on.
But we're not solely responsible for the destruction of the world. We invented democracy folks,
and its no fault of ours that democracy just happens to afford the most potential for anyone of any nationality.
Dictators and communists don't do much for the people they control. If they want to fuck up their economys,
well then that's THEIR FAULT and NOT OURS. You don't want us to be imperialist right? So stop asking us to be.
Oh, and by the way, has anyone heard of the toxic gas cloud created by in-effecient rice cookers hovering over
asian that threatens to kill millions? WHOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT? THE WESTERN WORLD?
You guys are smarter than this, c'mon
I think in every country on this planet there are those that have and those that don't.
Take the Islamic countries nowadays. Now, most of these countries' leaders have wealth that would put whole western communities to shame. They live lives of unbelievable luxury and comfort. At the same time millions of their citizens are starving, uneducated and the few that aren't are trying like hell to get outta their and come to western countries. Now u have to ask yerself why don't these leaders find ways to distribute the wealth created by the oil business more evenly or at least ensure that the citizens of their relatively small nations are able to live lives of comfort? I'm not talkin about western style comfort, but at least comfortable according to their own cultural, societal standards.
It's not impossible to do, just look at the country of Malaysia. I think. lol!
ONE......
bigboi
