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"More to the point, the West has evolved into a society with a stable system of government, which follows the rule of law, and has respect for the rights and life of the individual--none of which is true in Africa.
Among old Africa hands, we have a saying, usually accompanied by a shrug: "Africa wins again." This is usually said after an incident such as:
* a beloved missionary is butchered by his congregation, for no apparent reason
* a tribal chief prefers to let his tribe starve to death rather than accepting food from the Red Cross (would mean he wasn't all-powerful, you see)
* an entire nation starves to death, while its ruler accumulates wealth in foreign banks
* a new government comes into power, promising democracy, free elections etc., provided that the freedom doesn't extend to the other tribe
* the other tribe comes to power in a bloody coup, then promptly sets about slaughtering the first tribe
* etc, etc, etc, ad nauseam, ad infinitum.

The prognosis is bleak, because none of this mayhem shows any sign of ending. The conclusions are equally bleak, because, quite frankly, there is no answer to Africa's problems, no solution that hasn't been tried before, and failed."

. . . the West has evolved into a society with a stable system of government, which follows the rule of law, and has respect for the rights and life of the individual--none of which is true in Africa.

Shouldn't that read, ". . . the West has evolved into a society that at one time had a stable system of government, at one time followed the rule of law, and at one time had respect for the rights and life of individuals other than the most degenerate and perverted.

The prognosis is bleak, because none of this mayhem shows any sign of ending. The conclusions are equally bleak, because, quite frankly, there is no answer to Africa's problems, no solution that hasn't been tried before, and failed."

Actually, there ARE some solutions, but nobody has the will or stomach (not even me) to actually apply them.

Sometimes it makes wish we HAD done what the damned "governments" there are constantly accusing us of doing. If we had, they wouldn't be around to try to shift the blame onto our shoulders, rather than keeping it squarely on their own, where it belongs.