So, you are right, the public and elites in Arab nations overwhelmingly believe Myths that you can easily see are nonsense. What you don't see, is that your own dearly held Myths are equally nonsense, and equally self-destructive.
What I see, my dear Jacob, is that I, as a card-carrying member of the West, have a habit of empirical observation, belief in the scientific method, a government and a press with checks and balances, and an opposite opinion for nearly every opinion expressed resulting in an on-going exchange of ideas. Moreover, the opposition gets to badmouth America and kill every sacred cow without even worrying about going to jail.
I don't see these things when I look at the Arab world. The massive tide there is a wave of Global Village Idiocy, reinforcing every prejudice and inciting the common man to rage at external enemies. You don't to believe that OBL did 9/11? Fine! We'll none of us believe it! It was the Mossad! The CIA! The man in the moon! All I see for opposition is a few liberal intellectuals swimming against the tide from safe perches in London.
Tell me, if the West and the Arab lands are all the same, why are they in London? Why isn't the English opposition in Riyadh? Some countries are a LOT less tolerant of deviations from The National Myth than others. Some countries also have national myths that are perilously at odds with current political realities. |
