So, what we have here is a Jew, drawn with exaggerated features (in classic Anti-Semitic fashion), dragging a reluctant cowboy, representing America, over a sheet of paper entitled "Human Rights." The meaning is obvious and the implications ironic.
This is a depiction of the Grand Conspiracy (Jews using America to destroy Goodness), of which many of the smaller theories (e.g. 9-11, 7-7, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, etc.) are only a part.
As the premier Pan-Arab news outlet, I think it's alarming that Al-Jazeera publishes this kind of incendiary material. Imagine the BBC or the New York Times publishing such commentary. But conspiracy theories are a major part of the way that Middle Easterners explain the world (read here), whereas they are isolated to the fringe in most Western societies.
I would like to begin a discussion on World View.
What are some major components of your world view? What aspects would people in other cultures find agreeable? What would they disagree with?
And finally, what importance, if any does world view in determining the success of an individual? How about for a culture?
I would say that culture has quite an influence on determining the success of an individual. I was going to contribute a post on the nature of poverty, but commenting here will allow me to get the essence of what I wanted to say out.
ReplyDeleteI am a student. I am married. My wife and I have many married student friends, some of whome are quite young and whom have children. Practically all of us are quite poor, with more debt than equity. We live in clean, but rather small apartments. Yet the crime rate in our married student housing complex is practically nil. And any crime that is committed in the complex is almost certainly not committed by those that live there.
Just yesterday I heard a story on the radio about high school students being gunned down in the streets of Detriot. Dozens so far this year. Those kids probably come from families that have similar, or greater, incomes that my peers and I. Poverty is a state of mind.
I realize the nature of poverty is a complex issue. I realize that my peers and I are in college and we have great opportunities ahead of us and that life is quite different for those in urban Detriot. But nonetheless, poverty is a state of mind.
There's a buzzword that's been going around lately. "Upward Mobility".
ReplyDeleteWith Sotamayor (sp?) being under review, lots of attention has been given to the fact that she was raised in the projects, and her schooling was thanks to Affirmative Action (another of those 'honest names').
When I was listening to the story, the line that caught my attention was "these projects were intended for families that were poor but upwardly mobile".
I agree with you Dane that there is a huge culture difference between the student housing of young marrieds at the University, and suburban and urban youth in Detroit. The poverty mindset doesn't stem from the lack of cash on hand, but rather this idea that there is a hopeless future.
What are some major components of your world view?
ReplyDeleteThe most major component of my world view is this assumption; That all people are more alike than they are different. That is to say, we all have similar motivations that are embedded so deeply in our psyche that we can't avoid being similar in them.
All people's motivations start with self-preservation. Part of that is a need to be part of a group. Connected to this is the idea that other groups are different, and my group has to be more powerful than your group to ensure my self-preservation. The need to be 'right' is directly related to this. My theology, ideology must be superior to yours for me to justify any actions against your group. That kind of thing.
And finally, what importance, if any does world view in determining the success of an individual? How about for a culture?
This question is so full, we could probably just discuss it and nothing else. First the definition of success is variable. Financial, spiritual, athletic ... But I suppose the answer would still be it's invaluable. Before being able to achieve dominance in any arena, the field of battle needs to be sized up. Whatever the world view is, it frames the rules that will determine whether you are successful.
Chuck's first post here states succinctly what, in my rather roundabout way, I tried to say: that poverty is much more than just a lack of cash on hand.
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ReplyDeleteit seems that the world view of the certain cultures is a hinderance to their success. - just thinking of their entitlement issues - they should get something for nothing just because who they are - and their government should allow them to sit around all day.
ReplyDeletethe world view of the judeo-christian west - God gave us this world to dominate - it's ours and we can do whatever (the general concensus - not really gospel truth - we need to take care of it) that has given the "west" a lisence to divide, pillage, and conquer the earth.
the worldview of the hindu - much more earth friendly and doesn't allow for such conquering.
I've noticed that it's easy to make sweeping generalites, whether for good or ill, from a position of ingorance.
ReplyDeleteJason, who is from the Judeo-Christian West and whose audience is mostly from the Judeo-Christian West, had to qualify his statement on the power of the Western mentality to enable pillaging. He made no such qualification on his Hindu worldview comment.
Since none of us majored in comparative religion with an emphasis in Hinduism, I don't think we have the broad base of knowledge needed to compare the relative merits of Hindu and Western thinking. Having just said that let me contradict myself by saying that I certainly don't think we need specialized degrees to have a conversation. Maybe i'm just lashing out 'cause I don't know much about the Hindu worldview.
The untouchables at the bottom of the caste system don't choose to be there and they must have gotten there somehow...
So many good topics. Where to begin?
ReplyDeleteLet me just chime in on a couple of points.
I think Chuck was right on the mark when he said that people, for the most part, are all pretty similar. That's not to say everyone is alike, rather, I think every society has its counterparts. I think you will find similar spectra existing across societies. We all have our geniuses and our psychopaths.
Regarding the critique of the West as feeling uniquely entitled because of religion, I would argue that virtually all civilizations take whatever they can in any way they can from other peoples. This is not unique to the West.
The Arabs, the Muslims, the Huns, the Mongols, the Turks, and the Aztecs are just some examples of ruthless and violent non-Western imperial civilizations. They all had their own differing justfications, but they all engaged in very similar behavior.
Also, while I agree that the culture of poverty is not only a question of money, I'm not sure that a lack of hope is the key factor on an individual level. I think it's simply a degenerate set of values, ethics and opinions. Gangsta rappers and sports stars from the 'hood often stick to thier old lifestyles, even after buying a house in the Hills. It's not because of a lack of hope.
And lastly, the caste system, in my cynical and marginally informed point of view, is a relic from when Aryan tribes invaded India thousands of years ago. They needed a way to keep themselves in power, so they developed a kind of ancient apartheid. The untouchables were the decendents of the Dravidian peoples, whom the Aryans conquered. The dogma that the station a person occupies in life is a direct result of their deeds in a past life was a great way to convince the downtrodden and any sympathisers among the elite, that the system is just.
Oh good, so I finally just hit the subscribe my email link.
ReplyDeleteLet every comment I make from here on out be taken with a grain of salt because I'm an idiot.
My brother-in-law recently came back from Iraq for his mid-tour leave. He was regaling us with stories of the culture he's living in. He made this statement. "All Arabs are liars. It's just in their culture and world view that the can't tell the truth."
I had trouble hearing it because it kind of flew in the face of my idea that people are mostly the same. Although it did support the 'self-preservation' theory.
Then it hit me that his perception of Arabs is really one sided. He's a doctor tending prisoners before they're released. Hopefully that's not giving away state secrets. So naturally his idea of Arabs (and I know they're not necessarily Arab living in Iraq) is a specific subculture of people living in a prison with the enemy, and won't be the same as the general populace.
It begs the question, and this is more to Jeremy since I suspect his experiences will lend themselves better to an answer; Is honesty really undervalued in the Middle-East. Or is it just like here, where being honest is the norm amongst people you associate with and a little less lax with people outside of your circle.
I don't know who this Jeremy chap is, but I'll go ahead and respond.
ReplyDeleteThe opinion expressed by your Brother-in-Law is not unique. In fact, I would say that this opinion is very common.
Values in the Middle East are a bit different than our ideal values (which we have a hard time living up to).
In general, loyalty seems to be more important than honesty, appearances are more important than reality, and truth is trumped by narrative.
However, I also think that your assertion that people really are similar still holds true. Similar circumstances often breed similar cultural traits. Much of the traits described above are common in many people who feel both victimized and disenfrachised.
I once got to know a European, a Spaniard in fact, pretty well. One day he told me that Americans are arrogant because we put the United States at the center of our world maps rather than Europe at the center, like everybody else in the world does. He actually said that to me, more or less just like that, and he said it without an ounce of irony in his voice.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, but I suspect, that countries like China and Saudi Arabia do not put Greenwich at the center of their world maps. Also, I have it on good authority that world maps used in South Korea do not have Europe at their center.
I realize that world maps with Europe/Africa at the center are nice because all the continents are in one piece and only the Pacific Ocean is split (if you do a Google image search for 'world maps' the maps with Europe at the center are the ones featured most prominantly).
I don't think you have to be an arrogant and hegemonic superpower to want to have you own country featured at the center of the world maps in your own country. However, it does stick me as a little arrogant to think that your country (or continent) should be at the center of world maps in other peoples countries.
I don't know if Jay Bee intended us to be so literal in our worldview postings