"You gotta change their culture".. Okay..Let's do it.

[SoCalDem]

A pentagon survivor says he supports *²'s plan to "change their culture".

What we have tried so far has been a dismal failure..

Let's see what might actually work..

If your neighbor does not like the way you keep up your house & lawn, what will persuade you to change it?

Let's say he shows up with code-enforcement in tow and threatens you.. and what if you don;t have the money or energy to "fix up" your place? They threaten to fine and or jail you if you don;t comply..


OR

the neighbor offers to help you, and volunteers his time to get your place into shape..

which plan has a better chance of success?

We don't like the way "they" school their kids.. Building a physical building is not enough. Most countries do not have "free" education, and the way these fundamentalist schools succeed, is that they do not charge the parents, who are usually dirt poor, to send their sons to school. As much as we love the idea of educating girls, it's just not a big thing in their culture... yes... I said THEIR culture.

We are an upstart nation, not even 300 years old, and they are the "cradle of civilization"..THOUSANDS of years old..

but but but, we don't LIKE the way they live..

If we are serious about changing the "hearts & minds", we must approach the issues sensibly.

These countries all have one thing in common (well, more than one, but)..they are ruled by stern leaders who often are hyper-religious. MOST of the people are mired in generations of poverty, and the countries' infrastructure is minimal at best. Most of the infrastructure that still exists, is left over from the "empire" days.

We benefit from a NO-Strings-attached system of aid ...aid that reaches down into the populace.

People who are making a decent living, are well-fed, who have their kids educated, have a decent place to live, clean water, and a stable life, are NOT likely to wander into the weeds with "terra-ists".

Sending soldiers and making them build buildings and call it a school, does not MAKE it a school.

dedicated teachers are required...a safe atmosphere is required..and it has to be on their terms.

Bullet-induced "freedom" is never going to work.. You cannot kill someone's grandpa or brother one day, and then expect them to happily send their 6 yr ol off to the shcool you built.

The problem we have on our hands is this..

We have demonized the whole middle east to the point that it's almost impossible to help these people without having a significant number of our own, and theirs, suspect that we are not genuine in our offers. One day we threaten to "turn them into glass", and the next day, our soldiers are handing out candy to the kids..

We need a truce... a truce where we all declare our intentions..

We need to buy some of their oil...fine..we'll be their customers
They hate our western ways?..great..they don;t have to adopt them.. Let them ban TV & radio, and go back to their ways if they like, but first we have to agree to actually leave them alone..

If they want our help, it must be pure humanitarian aid..directly to the people..not to the governments..

We'll save lives and money..

[Lars39]

1. And a humanitarian aid that does not include missionaries

that are arrogantly determined to convert everyone to their brand of 'christianity'.

[SoCalDem]

2. No strings.. of any kind..

especially the god string..

[maxsolomon]

3. we have to change our culture first

thus sayeth Jesus of Nazareth: Why do you notice the sliver in your friend’s eye, but overlook the timber in your own? How can you say to your friend, "Let me get the sliver out of your eye, when there is that timber in your own? You phony, first take the timber out of your own eye and then you’ll see well enough to remove the sliver from your friends eye.

our timber is petroleum. without it, we don't need to "change their culture". we could ignore it entirely.

absent that, clean water would have been a great starting point in convincing them of our goodwill. instead, the lack of it has been proof of our ill will.