Reply #10: I'm in complete agreement

[tainowarrior]

we got our work cut out here in the good 'ol USA. And I don't mean to sound Euro-centric, far from it.

But, purely from a detached political analysis, I do believe the West's political development owes much of its advancement due to the Enlightenment and the Reformation. I think scientific logic and the ability to seperate the church from state are two crucial factors of any advanced, liberal-democratic state. It's the only two things that have allowed multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic nations to coexist without one group slaughtering the other (and even then, the balance is fragile).

But, in Middle East Islamic nations, there is no balance at all. Either you conform to the Imam's or Ayatollah's dictates, or quite literally, the cut your head off.

In that sense, the Islamic countries are worse off, and it doesn't give me any Vidalisian sense of superiority to say so. It's saddening that it's happening, and it's sad that we here in the West also have our moral failings that we don't work on.