quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Sure, but what the heck does the Middle East have to do with India?

A tangential reference taken from nikil's "or the middle east" in order to give an example of a cultural region with lots of history of being ahead of the curve but which is currently behind curve.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Not all "cultural evolution" is progressive. American culture has evolved to contain ridiculous body image obsessions and anti-intellectualism. Maybe the Middle East should look forward to the days when they "catch up" with us on those things. Or maybe the idea of "cultural evolution" should just be dropped in favor of something more unambiguous like increased liberty or better economic conditions.

I think the problem here is your expectation of what culture is supposed to do. In the general sense it crawls forward along the scenic route. The problem is that it has to generate the scenery as it goes.


I think this can be boiled down to the catch phrase:

"Culture is the tool, history is the product, welcome to the factory flor"


Liberty and better economic conditions are the destination... but the scenery is generated by pushing/pulling things that don't want to go there. I don't see that resistance as being nefarious opposition, but rather as seeds for the scenery.

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