Posted on 02/13/2011 8:35:02 AM PST by kingattax
Precisely.
Another aspect of “why they are where they are” is consanguinity and the attendant IQ and health issues. No one likes to talk about it, but if you dig around, the scientific literature is out there. All those jokes about marrying cousins in Appalachia? The Muslim/Arab world makes them look like rank amateurs. Tribalism and arranged marriages to near relatives are not A Good Thing.
Yes, I have to say, that is a keeper. I’ll be adding it to my profile page later.
You know, that really isn’t mentioned at all. In fact it’s so rarely brought up, that I even didn’t remember it until you mentioned it.
That is a pretty serious issue.
From 7th century to what, stone age?
Yes, the discovery of oil has been very critical. The population of the Arab countries is so great relative to the available resources of food and water, that only oil has allowed some Arab states to survive with a reasonable standard of living. Unfortunately, the richest for the longest time has been Saudi Arabia which has been expansively exporting its most primative and narrow form of Islam, Wahabi, to the rest of the Muslim world. It is thus guaranteeing that other Muslims will be stuck with the form of Islam least suited to making sensible adjustments to the modern age. We are already seeing what is happening in those overcrowded countries that don’t have oil. Their only hope is that they don’t also have Wahabi Islam.
Rome made other grave errors, like encouraging the super rich. Many of whom were absentee landlords whose land was managed by slaves and serfs who had no incentive to maintain fertlity. Our super rich send work overseas to cheap labor so they can keep their hyper inflated salaries and perks and pay stockholders enough to keep them happy. Then they wonder why we have so many poor, unemployed, and dangerous or run down areas where they wouldn’t want to live and complain that America is going to the dogs.
Our super rich send work overseas to cheap labor so they can keep their hyper inflated salaries and perks and pay stockholders enough to keep them happy. Then they wonder why we have so many poor, unemployed, and dangerous or run down areas where they wouldn’t want to live and complain that America is going to the dogs.
History is a brutish, remorseless teacher. People need to wake up. Seriously.
“To start with tribalism is falling apart.”
Actually I would say it is not. Originally the tribe was composed of a group of people who could be communicated with by a leader talking to all the members of the tribe at the same time, thus leading them. After viewing the demonstrations of Egypt and Iran, I think the tribe has become huge thanks to the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Hopefully this huge Internet tribe will not be fooled by something so primative as fundamentalist Islam, and will embrace modern thinking that can find solutions based on science and creativity for their problems.
You seem very intelligent, however I do not share your optimism.
fundamentalist Islam will use the Internet as a tool to spread their beliefs. They'll seize control of it, through terror if need be.
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