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BAM! You agree with me that all cultures are NOT equal.
Killing gays for being gay is "just plain wrong." A culture that propagates such heinous actions "need to be changed" and they need to be changed, because on this single issue - it is inferior.
Of course on other issues, that same culture could be just fine --- and we shouldn't judge trivial and subjective issues like how they listen to stories or what kind of food they eat.
OK, in US culture, execution of criminals is considered an acceptable punishment for some crimes. The EU, on the other hand, considers capital punishment barbaric and inhuman. Companies in Europe are prevented from sending us the drugs we use to execute criminals in protest of this practice. Would it be fair for countries in the EU to declare American culture absolutely inferior to their cultures based on capital punishment?
Once again, it is YOUR view. Plenty of people would disagree with you just like plenty people think abortion is wrong.
This does not make a culture better or worse. Maybe better or worse for YOU but again, it's your individual view.
Yes and civilized societies should not negotiate on the morality of killing gays.
An insane lunatic has a different moral world view than a sane man. That doesn't mean we should accept his world view. Neither should we accept the view point that killing gays is equal morally from a culture that brainwashes its society into the evil.
That is why multiculturalism can be dangerous...they negotiate away unalienable rights as completely in the eye of the beholder.
This is a philosophical question, as others have already noted, because to say something is 'better' than something else is to claim that it contains certain characteristics which are objectively good and true against which we should measure all cultures.
Also, I think this topic has been convoluting 'culture' and 'country'. A country can contain multiple cultures depending on the makeup of its citizenry. So, for my purposes, I'll stick to saying 'country' because typically countries have some form of centralized government that propogates laws based on certain moral norms.
To make it really basic, suppose we suggest that the following list of characteristics are always, objective 'good' and that a countries laws can be measured by how well they adhere to them:
Individual Liberty
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Religion
Inherent Equality of all citizens
Based on this, we can draw a line and say that, yes, the policies of certain countries are inherently better (i.e. the laws more effectively achieve the above goals) than other countries. However, if you believe that the list above is purely subjective and that a 'good' country or culture need not promote these ideals then it may be harder to arrive at a solution.
Weird poll with the qualifiers IMO. Why couldn't you just have a "yes" or "no" option...?
In regards to the question itself, no I don't think all cultures are "equal." However, I also do not believe any culture is superior to another. The judging of a particular culture is based on one's own culture so as an American, reared in American culture, I cannot possibly determine of say...Japanese culture is worse or better than my own as I have no intimate knowledge of Japanese culture to compare to my own and nothing to define what is "better" or "worse" from a cultural perspective.
Overall, I agree with you, although I'm not sure I agree with what I bolded.
For example, Sudan and North Korea.
One thing I always try to remember is that in my time both visiting and living in Thailand, I remember that many Thais believed that theirs was the best country in the world. And, there are aspects of their culture that I think are preferable to culture in the United States, but also aspects of their culture that are clearly not preferable to culture in the United States. No country gets a gold star, at least from my perspective.
Yes and civilized societies should not negotiate on the morality of killing gays.
An insane lunatic has a different moral world view than a sane man. That doesn't mean we should accept his world view. Neither should we accept the view point that killing gays is equal morally from a culture that brainwashes its society into the evil.
That is why multiculturalism can be dangerous...they negotiate away unalienable rights as completely in the eye of the beholder.
First of all, we do NOT have any unalienable rights. None whatsoever. Let's stop saying that.
Secondly, who defines what is civilized? You? USA? In reality, either nobody or who has the most firepower. So right now, Americans have the most guns.
Thirdly, insane lunatic? Who defines that? You? Just because you say I am insane, it doesn't mean I am.
Look, I understand where you are coming from. You think some cultures are inferior compared to yours or ours but again that is YOUR VIEW. Plenty of people would disagree with you and plenty of people would say gay is disgusting and should be executed and American culture is crap.
For one, the right to the pursuit of happiness. And one thing that makes me happy is a cold beer. So any culture that tells me I can't drink a cold beer is inferior. I won't mention any names. But everyone knows which culture prohibits alcohol.
Of course on other issues, that same culture could be just fine --- and we shouldn't judge trivial and subjective issues like how they listen to stories or what kind of food they eat.
I think this is the problem with your posts here. You want to define what culture is very narrowly, and only as what you see as the bit things. You're trying to restrict what is accepted as a part of culture, and then try to turn it into some "whole". The telling of stories is very important in some cultures...like ours...American fiction, television, movies...and those things help define what is acceptable or not acceptable in our culture.
Food is a very important aspect of culture. Types of food. Openness to food types. How one shops for food. How one eats.
Yes and civilized societies should not negotiate on the morality of killing gays.
An insane lunatic has a different moral world view than a sane man. That doesn't mean we should accept his world view. Neither should we accept the view point that killing gays is equal morally from a culture that brainwashes its society into the evil.
That is why multiculturalism can be dangerous...they negotiate away unalienable rights as completely in the eye of the beholder.
If you want to argue about whether the killing of gays is right or wrong, that's fine. Do not attempt, however, to define a whole culture by that one ingredient.
If you want to argue about whether the killing of gays is right or wrong, that's fine. Do not attempt, however, to define a whole culture by that one ingredient.
Then you would agree that American culture shouldn't be defined by capitol punishment?
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