Why Don’t Western Elites Get the Middle East? Because They Think It’s Just Like Them (Sort of)

Pajamas Media ^ | Barry Rubin

[ventanax5]

I’ve come to realize a hitherto hidden dimension of why it is so hard for Western establishment figures (policymakers, journalists, and academics) to understand the Middle East. It is the conflict between the thirst for good news and the reality of bad news.

Being optimists (based on the relatively good course of their own societies?) and believing that positive change is really easy if people only put their minds to making it happen (ditto and also liberal thinking), they exaggerate any sign that things are getting better.

Moreover, contemporary thinking trembles in horror about saying anything critical about Third World peoples (racism, Islamophobia) while it is considered noble to criticize “ourselves.” On top of that is the assumption that no one can really be radical. They are just responding to past mistreatment and will revert to being moderate the minute the oppression is corrected.

So constantly we are led to an artificial optimism that ignores threats or even converts them into benefits.

How many examples I see every day!

[Sherman Logan]

You are quite right.

It’s really odd that people who are so proud of their tolerance for differing cultures are so dogmatic that there really aren’t any differences between those cultures.

(I’m speaking of the lefties, of course.) Most right-wingers believe there are indeed differences between cultures, and the other ones are inferior. On net I agree with this, although every culture has aspects that are admirable, often superior to our own.

[Sherman Logan]

The leftist elites hate Christians and Orhodox Jews with a burning passion... and so they side with other like-minded groups (e.g., Islamists, radical gay activists, etc.).

I agree. I've believed for some time that the dominating aspects for liberals is hatred of and alienation from western civilization.

Many conservatives believe they hate America because it's insufficiently socialist, for example. I believe this is exactly backwards. The hatred came first for them. The socialism is just one of the many possible rationales they can spin for themselves to "justify" that hatred.

Which, IMO, can be seen by the way when Communism collapsed the commies in this country switched without missing beat to using environmentalism or feminism or multiculturalism to justify their anger and contempt.

[Qbert]

“...Many conservatives believe they hate America because it’s insufficiently socialist, for example. I believe this is exactly backwards. The hatred came first for them. The socialism is just one of the many possible rationales they can spin for themselves to “justify” that hatred.

Which, IMO, can be seen by the way when Communism collapsed the commies in this country switched without missing beat to using environmentalism or feminism or multiculturalism to justify their anger and contempt.”

—Interesting observation- could well be true.

[chesley]

Of course, God could have worked it some other way, but David took his slingshot, too.

[musicman]

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[Secret Agent Man]

My point was he didn’t leave his religion back at home. People back then didn’t compartmentalize their lives like a lot of people do today. It’s really just a recent phenomena of modern man’s rationalization process.

The impression you get is that because the guy’s in war, he puts his religion on hold. Like it has no place in war. I disagree as religious people are needed to make the tough decisions and be able to justify them as necessary. To not only do the ugly things that need to be done, and not let it turn them hard and ugly, but to be on a Christian level, unhappy they have to do what needs to be done. Glad they can protect and possibly by their actions make things end in their favor more quickly, but at the same time wishing they didn’t have to.

[caww]

Muslims do not “think” as the rest of the world might...most can’t except those who want to gain power or retain it, and even they’ve had abusive upbringings in most cases.

You couple abuse with the Koranic teachings and there is no place to run except deep within. Dissociation becomes habit forming as a means to deal with their harsh upbringing...and if it continues into adulthood it is not uncommon they develope or have already developed mental health issues such as dissociative identity disorders, and that will vary depending on the level of abuse.

From this “triggers” can and will happen despite the host country they are in...which is why we’ve seen husbands beheading their wife, Fathers killing their daughters, and rapes of woman and the list goes on and on. Their minds are wired.

[chesley]

We’ve got no disagreement. My point is that David didn’t depend on God to do all the work. He took care of what he could and trusted the Lord for the rest.

And, it woeked out pretty well for him