This Thread Might Not Be Popular

[saintsebastian]

21. Totally Disagree

Last edited Fri Nov 7, 2014, 01:13 AM - Edit history (1)

Technology and trade have resulted in the different hemispheres of the world coming closer together, resulting in a clash of cultures. This is the Information Age, and it's a rocky ride, to say the least.

I actually don't buy into the clash of the cultures/they-hate-our-way-of-life narrative. I think the "rockiness" may stem instead from decades of violence, both economically and militarily, that Western imperialism has wrought upon the people of the Middle East.

I'm not saying we should sit back and let things happen -in fact, you could say that's why we're so involved in the Middle East in the first place, because we don't sit back and ignore it. I don't subscribe to the single theory that only a lust for oil is behind our engagement in the rest of the world.

Since when does peaceful diplomacy amount to sitting back and doing nothing? Peaceful, diplomatic measures, like sitting down with Iran to talk about ISIL, were off the table even for President Obama. We seem to reflexively gravitate towards bombing campaigns and sanctions which, aside from making life miserable for millions of innocent Muslims, have not seemed to stunt the growth and/or spread of terrorism.

And while America isn't calling all of the shots, as the world's only so-called superpower, we certainly call a lot of them.