Can One Culture Be "Better" than Another?

[DGS49]

I have seen, over the past months, many panel discussions and debates about the subject of whether Muslim culture is inferior or worse than, let's call it "Western, Judeo-Christian" culture. It may be that the Muslim culture that is in the public eye is Shia culture as opposed to Sunni culture. I don't know.

But the question also comes up when speaking of "indigenous" cultures in the America's, Australia, and elsewhere. "Who are we to come in and declare that our culture is superior?"

I think that there are certain characteristics of a culture that are not just desirable, but mandatory components of an acceptable culture, and any culture that lacks them is indeed "inferior." A few examples follow; a humane/acceptable culture must:

• not tolerate cannibalism, slavery, or ritual killing,
• protect vulnerable groups, such as children, women, the elderly, and the mentally incompetent,
• treasure TRUTH as an essential value,
• allow dissent, without punishment,
• prohibit - with severe legal sanctions - theft in any form, or physical harm to others or their property,
• treat women as independent moral agents, with control over their own bodies,
• promote a well-defined family structure with appropriate legislation and sanctions for violation,
• not wage war, or conduct war - even a "defensive" war - in a way that unduly and intentionally involves non-combatants.

For one reason or another, it is a Big Deal for some people to consider that cultures that impose sanctions for sexual irregulars are also "inferior," but that one is not on my personal list.

Beyond that, a society can collectively provide all sorts of things - food, shelter, healthcare, pensions for the elderly, and so on, but it seems to me that societies that do not at least conform to the standards set forth above should be shunned where possible. They should not be given memberships in international organizations like the U.N., NATO, etc. Further, civilized people should be willing to call out those societies for their intolerable traits, and not decline to do so because it might make them feel bad or because it might be considered "racist" or bigoted. Let the chips fall where they must.

 

[Anathema]

I definitely believe one culture can be better/worse than another. My list of characteristics might overlap with yours in certain areas, but would decidedly differ in others

 

[Manonthestreet]

We arent doing well in the truth dept and without it you're lost

 

[Muhammed]

I have seen, over the past months, many panel discussions and debates about the subject of whether Muslim culture is inferior or worse than, let's call it "Western, Judeo-Christian" culture. It may be that the Muslim culture that is in the public eye is Shia culture as opposed to Sunni culture. I don't know.

But the question also comes up when speaking of "indigenous" cultures in the America's, Australia, and elsewhere. "Who are we to come in and declare that our culture is superior?"

I think that there are certain characteristics of a culture that are not just desirable, but mandatory components of an acceptable culture, and any culture that lacks them is indeed "inferior." A few examples follow; a humane/acceptable culture must:

• not tolerate cannibalism, slavery, or ritual killing,
• protect vulnerable groups, such as children, women, the elderly, and the mentally incompetent,
• treasure TRUTH as an essential value,
• allow dissent, without punishment,
• prohibit - with severe legal sanctions - theft in any form, or physical harm to others or their property,
• treat women as independent moral agents, with control over their own bodies,
• promote a well-defined family structure with appropriate legislation and sanctions for violation,
• not wage war, or conduct war - even a "defensive" war - in a way that unduly and intentionally involves non-combatants.

For one reason or another, it is a Big Deal for some people to consider that cultures that impose sanctions for sexual irregulars are also "inferior," but that one is not on my personal list.

Beyond that, a society can collectively provide all sorts of things - food, shelter, healthcare, pensions for the elderly, and so on, but it seems to me that societies that do not at least conform to the standards set forth above should be shunned where possible. They should not be given memberships in international organizations like the U.N., NATO, etc. Further, civilized people should be willing to call out those societies for their intolerable traits, and not decline to do so because it might make them feel bad or because it might be considered "racist" or bigoted. Let the chips fall where they must.

 

[Woodznutz]

We arent doing well in the truth dept and without it you're lost

Truth comes from knowledge, something we are short of, despite our grandiose education system.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

No. One culture cannot be better than another. What they are is incompatible. Sometimes so incompatible that they cannot coexist. This is the way it is with Islam any any other culture.

 

[Votto]

I have seen, over the past months, many panel discussions and debates about the subject of whether Muslim culture is inferior or worse than, let's call it "Western, Judeo-Christian" culture. It may be that the Muslim culture that is in the public eye is Shia culture as opposed to Sunni culture. I don't know.

But the question also comes up when speaking of "indigenous" cultures in the America's, Australia, and elsewhere. "Who are we to come in and declare that our culture is superior?"

I think that there are certain characteristics of a culture that are not just desirable, but mandatory components of an acceptable culture, and any culture that lacks them is indeed "inferior." A few examples follow; a humane/acceptable culture must:

• not tolerate cannibalism, slavery, or ritual killing,
• protect vulnerable groups, such as children, women, the elderly, and the mentally incompetent,
• treasure TRUTH as an essential value,
• allow dissent, without punishment,
• prohibit - with severe legal sanctions - theft in any form, or physical harm to others or their property,
• treat women as independent moral agents, with control over their own bodies,
• promote a well-defined family structure with appropriate legislation and sanctions for violation,
• not wage war, or conduct war - even a "defensive" war - in a way that unduly and intentionally involves non-combatants.

For one reason or another, it is a Big Deal for some people to consider that cultures that impose sanctions for sexual irregulars are also "inferior," but that one is not on my personal list.

Beyond that, a society can collectively provide all sorts of things - food, shelter, healthcare, pensions for the elderly, and so on, but it seems to me that societies that do not at least conform to the standards set forth above should be shunned where possible. They should not be given memberships in international organizations like the U.N., NATO, etc. Further, civilized people should be willing to call out those societies for their intolerable traits, and not decline to do so because it might make them feel bad or because it might be considered "racist" or bigoted. Let the chips fall where they must.

If you were to ask someone in the 1940's if the US culture was better than the Nazi culture in Germany, you would have gotten an overwhelming YES!!

But if you ask the same question about the culture of the US in comparison to any culture with dark browned skinned people, or virtually any other country, you will get accused of racism and being xenophobic.

 

[TheParser]

(1) No need to use the word "better."

(2( People from all over the world are knocking on the doors of Canada and the United States and Western Europe and Australia/New Zealand and begging: "Please let us live with you."

(3) End of discussion.

 

[DGS49]

No. One culture cannot be better than another. What they are is incompatible. Sometimes so incompatible that they cannot coexist. This is the way it is with Islam any any other culture.

So when another culture sanctions "honor killings," and female "circumcision," slavery, and executes homosexuals, they are simply "different" from Western societies, but no worse?

You are a fool.

 

[EvilCat Breath]

So when another culture sanctions "honor killings," and female "circumcision," slavery, and executes homosexuals, they are simply "different" from Western societies, but no worse?

You are a fool.

So when another culture sanctions "honor killings," and female "circumcision," slavery, and executes homosexuals, they are simply "different" from Western societies, but no worse?

You are a fool.

They are only worse to you, or even myself because our culture has different values. So different as to be incompatible. Our civilization is no less abhorrent to them.

 

[zaangalewa]

Truth comes from knowledge ...

It's the other way. Knowledge comes from truth. But knowledge is able to be wrong - for example unintentiionally on reason of mistakes and intentionally on reasons of ideologies and liars for example. And what we do has normally nothing to do with love, rationality, truth and knowledge at all but more with dreams and control and such things. Also with crimes.

Little example: In every European car exists meanwhile a kind of automatized emergency call. The "truth" is: This call is not only expensive it is also superflous in times of smart-phones - and it is indeed even counterproductive because this alarms are practically always only wrong. So why exists such a stupid instrument in cars? What is doing such an instrument? It is a sender. So a car is able to send and to receive data. This gives the people who are able to control this streams of data a lot of possibilities. Nearly all of this possibilities are only good for "big brother" (governments, super-rich people and titanic companies) and not for the owners of a car and the little world in which they live. But the owners of the cars - who pay this all - and their little world is the only real component in all this games - all other things are only dead constructs and blind ideas. But nearly no one speaks about. By the way: Who speaks in Russia about that mothers are forced to give their beloved children to Putin so he is able to kill them in a totally stupid, senseless and criminal war on Europe in the Ukraine?

Question: Is it really difficult to see the truth or are we all only wrong lazybones who do not like to see the truth?

 

[Blues Man]

I guess you first need to set out objective criteria as to what the qualities of a "good" society are before you can decide if one society or another can be compared.

 

[Woodznutz]

It's the other way. Knowledge comes from truth. But knowledge is able to be wrong - for example unintentiionally on reason of mistakes and intentionally on reasons of ideologies and liars for example. And what we do has normally nothing to do with love, rationality, truth and knowledge at all but more with dreams and control and such things. Also with crimes.

Little example: In every European car exists meanwhile a kind of automatized emergency call. The "truth" is: This call is not only expensive it is also superflous in times of smart-phones - and it is indeed even counterproductive because this alarms are practically always only wrong. So why exists such a stupid instrument in cars? What is doing such an instrument? It is a sender. So a car is able to send and to receive data. This gives the people who are able to control this streams of data a lot of possibilities. Nearly all of this possibilities are only good for "big brother" (governments, super-rich people and titanic companies) and not for the owners of a car and the little world in which they live. But the owners of the cars - who pay this all - and their little world is the only real component in all this games - all other things are only dead constructs and blind ideas. But nearly no one speaks about. By the way: Who speaks in Russia about that mothers are forced to give their beloved children to Putin so he is able to kill them in a totally stupid, senseless and criminal war on Europe in the Ukraine?

Question: Is it really difficult to see the truth or are we all only wrong lazybones who do not like to see the truth?

In mundane matters truth emerges from a multitude of related facts, or knowledge. Truth is often hidden and must be revealed one fact at a time.

 

[DGS49]

I guess you first need to set out objective criteria as to what the qualities of a "good" society are before you can decide if one society or another can be compared.

That's what I did.

 

[zaangalewa]

In mundane matters truth emerges from a multitude of related facts, or knowledge.

I fear truth has not really to do with this what we call knowledge today. I was in many schools in my life and I fear - let me overestimate a little - the worst idiots I saw in the universities.

Truth is often hidden and must be revealed one fact at a time.

Truth is directly in and in front of your eyes - everywhere - all around. But to see the truth is indeed a mystery. After you found what's right it was always easy to find it. But before you found it it was nearly impossible to find it. And when you think about then you are never really sure to be right. You'll need always again a new evidence.

 

[Woodznutz]

I fear truth has not really to do with this what we call knowledge today. I was in many schools in my life and I fear - let me overestimate a little - the worst idiots I saw in the universities.



Truth is directly in and in front of your eyes - everywhere - all around. But to see the truth is indeed a mystery. After you found what's right it was always easy to find it. But before you found it it was nearly impossible to find it. And when you think about then you are never really sure to be right. You'll need always again a new evidence.

True. God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

"Truth is a 'higher order' of facts and knowledge." (I just made that up.)

 

[zaangalewa]

True. God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

"Truth is a 'higher order' of facts and knowledge." (I just made that up.)

I do not know what you say here. What's true is just simple true. An ananas was also an ananas before 1492. Oh sorry: A pineapple was also a pineapple before 1492. You call "ananas" "pineapple" - what's wrong, isn't it? Pines have no apples. Nevertheless a pineapple always tasted like a pineapple. The year 1492 has nothing to do with - pines also not and also not apples - except that this truth is only able to know a European since 1492 and later. The strange thing is that very most people think truth has to do with language. But your English pineapple is a German ananas - what's the same - although "pineapple" is a Germanic word and "ananas" a word from the Tupi language, also called Guarani - an American language from the Caribics.

PS.:
In Hosea 4,6 is by the way written in German "Zugrunde geht mein Volk, weil es ohne Erkenntnis Gottes ist. ..." = "My people perish because they are without the knowledge of God. ..."

Comment: The word "Erkenntnis"(recognition, awareness) is the way to get "Wissen"(=knowledge).


And in Isaia 5,x is written "... Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands. Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst. ..."

 

[Woodznutz]

I do not know what you say here. What's true is just simple true. An ananas was also an ananas before 1492. Oh sorry: A pineapple was also a pineapple before 1492. You call "ananas" "pineapple" - what's wrong, isn't it? Pines have no apples. Nevertheless a pineapple always tasted like a pineapple. The year 1492 has nothing to do with - pines also not and also not apples - except that this truth is only able to know a European since 1492 and later. The strange thing is that very most people think truth has to do with language.

"Truth is acting on the facts." (I also just made that up.)

 

[zaangalewa]

@Woodnutz

By the way - I forgot to tell you something what shows that the rule "turn the other cheek" is indeed an important rule. It helps never to lose control. You remembered me to a very old story in my life which I nearly had forgotten.

I was very young and my brother was much older than I and so he always tried to educate me. This day he told me never to come into a fight with someone else because in the end everyone has only a black eye or wounds, the clothing is dirty or torn and no one will feel well afterwards. I had to smile a little because indeed he always had had such problems in his life - I and my friends never had such problems. Who attacks someone in a group of people who are 2-2.4 yards tall?

But some days later I was in a music pub - the people there stood near by near. I made a little step back, touched someone with my back and said automatically: "Sorry, beg your pardon!" But this guy with a glas full of beer in his hands had been drunken and he said some of the beer had swapped on his clothing. He was very aggressive and asked for satisfaction. He liked to fight with fists against me outside of the pub. I told him beer makes not smudges and thought about what my brother had said. Then this guy started to attack me verbally in many ways and tried to provoke me again and again. I became indeed angry - although I saw how stupid this was. I answered as reasonable as I was able to answer. Because he was without any success - I did not like to fight with him - he called me in the end a coward and for to satisfy him I should say "I am an asshole". This was the moment I nearly had attacked him. But I got immediatelly control over my emotions and I thought "Who cares? If someone has the right to call me an asshole then I am this on my own!" And loud I said: "I am an asshole!". And this absurde situation ended. I guess he understood in this moment that I could be right and I could really be an asshole. And to be drunken is not the best when you have to fight against an asshole.



Translation:

I would like to be anywhere, everywhere, but not here. And I ask myself Yes, I don't understand
Why am I talking to you?

In your own special way, you talk shit all the time. But I won't tell you
No, I'll keep it to myself
I'll just ask quietly

Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?

Time is far too precious and life far too beautiful. How dared I even ask you, now I have the problem

I can't change it either and I don't care so much
I beg you
Please don't say anything now

I won't ask you again
Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?


Aha, oh yes, that's interesting. You're highly gifted
But you didn't realise it. You're the greatest for me too, the number one arsehole. Please shut the fuck up

Before I forget myself or speak with my hand

Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?

but you just
but you just
love to hate people

 

[Woodznutz]

@Woodnutz

By the way - I forgot to tell you something what shows that the rule "turn the other cheek" is indeed an important rule. It helps never to lose control. You remembered me to a very old story in my life which I nearly had forgotten.

I was very young and my brother was much older than I and so he always tried to educate me. This day he told me never to come into a fight with someone else because in the end everyone has only a black eye or wounds, the clothing is dirty or torn and no one will feel well afterwards. I had to smile a little because indeed he always had had such problems in his life - I and my friends never had such problems. Who attacks someone in a group of people who are 2-2.4 yards tall?

But some days later I was in a music pub - the people there stood near by near. I made a little step back, touched someone with my back and said automatically: "Sorry, beg your pardon!" But this guy with a glas full of beer in his hands had been drunken and he said some of the beer had swapped on his clothing. He was very aggressive and asked for satisfaction. He liked to fight with fists against me outside of the pub. I told him beer makes not smudges and thought about what my brother had said. Then this guy started to attack me verbally in many ways and tried to provoke me again and again. I became indeed angry - although I saw how stupid this was. I answered as reasonable as I was able to answer. Because he was without any success - I did not like to fight with him - he called me in the end a coward and for to satisfy him I should say "I am an asshole". This was the moment I nearly had attacked him. But I got immediatelly control over my emotions and I thought "Who cares? If someone has the right to call me an asshole then I am this on my own!" And loud I said: "I am an asshole!". And this absurde situation ended. I guess he understood in this moment that I could be right and I could really be an asshole. And to be drunken is not the best when you have to fight against an asshole.



Translation:

I would like to be anywhere, everywhere, but not here. And I ask myself Yes, I don't understand
Why am I talking to you?

In your own special way, you talk shit all the time. But I won't tell you
No, I'll keep it to myself
I'll just ask quietly

Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?

Time is far too precious and life far too beautiful. How dared I even ask you, now I have the problem

I can't change it either and I don't care so much
I beg you
Please don't say anything now

I won't ask you again
Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?


Aha, oh yes, that's interesting. You're highly gifted
But you didn't realise it. You're the greatest for me too, the number one arsehole. Please shut the fuck up

Before I forget myself or speak with my hand

Tell me, does the arsehole thing come from you?
More from your mum or was it your dad

Who never learnt to love

And do you think
That it will always stay that way
Or is it just a pastime and you could be completely different but you just love to hate people?

but you just
but you just
love to hate people

Great story.
I had a similar experience in a bar once where a guy wanted to fight with me. I didn't know him and there was no reason why he acted that way. I told the bartender to call the police as this guy was threatening to assault me. That ended it and the guy quietly walked away.

However, in another case I wasn't able to escape a fight. For reasons unknown to me a guy picked a fight with me one night in a parking lot. I got the best of him by punching him right in the 'snot locker'. That pretty much ended the fight although I did inflict a little more damage to his face.