Lars Larson, a Portland Oregon talk show host, talked today about how interpretations of policies, foreign and domestic both, can be skewed if you don't take them in the context of the operating ethic of the relevant venue.
For example, although it's horrible to think of how much the people we now call Native Americans lost when Europeans came on the scene, Europeans followed exactly the same set of rules that the Natives themselves did when they came in and occupied the land of another. That is, except for the first few who discovered a pristine, unpopulated land, every single one of the Native tribes came in, assimilated or displaced or wiped out the occupants they encountered.
The European pioneers did much the same thing, except that some of them made an attempt to 'convert' the natives instead of simply wiping them out. They followed the operating principles that were IN PLACE at the time.
I'm sure there are many examples of this concept in the Middle East and elsewhere. Our country gets into a lot of trouble because we try to operate by principles that work in an organized society like our own, where in fact the principles in force in The Middle East are vastly different -- say like those of the 11th century.
I'm just throwing this out for discussion. Have at it. I probably won't be here for the fun for the next few weeks. |
