re: #815 drcordell

I think rather we should make continued support increasingly conditional. Doesn’t totally solve the problem, though, and is a little Western Parternalistic.

My problem with you, Cordell, is that I think you’re unconsciously buying into some racism or culturalism, and do not believe that the Muslim world can actually find a path to growth, liberalism, and peace on its own. I do not like it when people on the ‘right’ suggest that Islam is somehow more inherently bad than other religions, and I do not like it when people on the ‘left’ suggest those poor ignorant Arabs just can’t help themselves. I have great sympathy for the citizens who are kept ignorant and fed propaganda, but that’s not excuse enough— the educated elite are party to the deception as well. I think it is paternalistic to suggest that the Muslim world lacks some je ne sais quoi that is a requirement for revolution, because I feel that you’re identifying that with the Western world.