My question remains unanswered.
If you believe that all the organisations in all civilised countries have been influenced by interest groups, are the ones in places like Iraq, Uganda, Sierra Leone and others in similar ‘enlightened’ countries the only ones that come out do this looking good?
Should they be commendednforstanding up to ‘interest groups’?
You must be from the U.K. with the use of your s’s?
Your question judging by it’s diction already is culturally biased and loaded with presumptions. Which is interesting giving the social science of sociology, very much dominated by political and social liberals, demands no others culture is necessarily bad but just different. And I must admit sometimes there might be some truth in that and other times there is not.
Anyways, the countries you listed have their problems, Iraq in particular has been really impacted by a scale of invasion and death of it’s men old and young that I doubt the “civilized” nations of the United States or the United Kingdom could have recovered from.
I served over in Desert Storm for the winning side. One of the most lopsided wars in history it was really less a war for us than it was for them. Given our technological superiority on land, sea, and air we essentially obliterated those people. Then the Iraqi War came years later and again The U.S. and it’s allies brought major destruction to that nation. So, it’s understandable some disorder would occur in its aftermath. The enormous casualties during the U.S. Civil War brought a social cost to many communities across the South as well. Hunger and crime.
Contemporary United States is not entirely “civilized” to many of the black Africans, East Indians, and others that relocate to the United States to begin their lives. There is a major gap between the black Africans and the ethnic Black-Americans (I belong ethnically to the latter). They view us as a violent, lazy, people from homes with broken families and little “values.” I could post an article from the Milwaukee newspaper where one of the black Africans complains that a recent murder of a black African (for $11) by a Black-American only adds tension between the two groups. The Africans believe in marriage, taking care of their kids, and education.
I say all this with scars on my body from three .40 caliber bullet wounds shot into me by a Milwaukee cop. By law enforcements own statistics over 90% of the time one shot from a .40 caliber round anywhere on the body drops a suspect within a few seconds. Ironically, the cop was charitable in his tactical pistol craft, because they are trained to put not just three to the body but two to the head when a suspect is only so many feet from you.
So, I don’t know.
What I do know is that the Catholic nations of Latin America - influenced by the Vatican - opposed the eugenics program of forced sterilization of women in the developed nations of the U.S. and Europe during the first half of the 20th century. In the United States some Southern states were still court ordering sterilization of women into the 1970’s. Then as now the leftist intellectuals smugly regarded themselves as the progressives in the world compared to the stupid Catholics.
What I think is poor nations like the ones you mentioned resist certain changes - for good or ill. And not because they are intellectuals but usually because they are not. Again, for good or ill. They often have hundreds or thousands of years tradition they draw from. Usually stronger roles for the family.
I don’t suspect the movie
Gattaca will become reality in developing nations in Africa, Latin America, or the Middle East. In fact, it’s my opinion that it will be the Muslims of the East, Africans, and atheist humanists outside the sciences that will form alliances with the Pope and Holy See to resist the coming biological/genetic determinism that will sweep across the U.S. and Europe and draw support from most lay Catholics.
And I’m not saying those nations you mentioned do not have their barbaric - or uncivilized - aspects to their cultures. They do. But even Satan can have a Ph.D. and dress in a suit and charm women while a homeless bum still has his character defects and sins. It’s not like I have to praise the bum. But at least the bum is not Satan.
In other words… just because I recognize and acknowledge interest groups often infiltrate and influence academia, research, and conclusions (often inferred from statistics) does not mean I have to praise Iraq, Uganda, or Sierra Leone.
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