i agree with a lot of what is being said, but there is a danger of framing all this arab revolution into a broader framework of a western type leftist argument - typical things like womens rights, despotic leaders, islamism and everything to do with what the west regards as islamism and being "arab".
the above perhaps reinforces my point.
the arabs and the islamic world have been intellectually cuckolded for centuries, they have never been able frame and map out whats best for them, is it so hard to take the best from the US/europe and meld it into a way that fits in with your own respective societies.
if you dont frame and OWN your own events and history then someone else will do that, and therefore OWN these said events, this is been the story for centuries, first physical and now mental slavery, theres no confidence and consensus on saying "this is whats best for us and this is what we want......"
i quite like the chinese model, their argument is democracy is not one size fits all, this is probably true in a different sense for the islamic world, but the chinese have the confidence to state this, and no one can really argue against the chinese taking ownership of china.
is this thread not a case in point of what i am saying - because it looks to me like we are fighting to claim ownership of our history, our own political, social, religious and cultural inclinations and motivations - all because one man called huntington said so.....sorry, i dont want to play this game....
why does this puzzle you,the US has many great things about it - it has a developed economy, it offers opportunity, it offers upward mobility (well maybe before, lol) - everyone admires this, but thats the carrot, theres a stick which precedes this, i think we all know what that entails.a most curious situation is developing, large majorities in Muslim majority countries simultaneous resent and admire the US - how does one explain this??
the above perhaps reinforces my point.
the arabs and the islamic world have been intellectually cuckolded for centuries, they have never been able frame and map out whats best for them, is it so hard to take the best from the US/europe and meld it into a way that fits in with your own respective societies.
if you dont frame and OWN your own events and history then someone else will do that, and therefore OWN these said events, this is been the story for centuries, first physical and now mental slavery, theres no confidence and consensus on saying "this is whats best for us and this is what we want......"
i quite like the chinese model, their argument is democracy is not one size fits all, this is probably true in a different sense for the islamic world, but the chinese have the confidence to state this, and no one can really argue against the chinese taking ownership of china.
is this thread not a case in point of what i am saying - because it looks to me like we are fighting to claim ownership of our history, our own political, social, religious and cultural inclinations and motivations - all because one man called huntington said so.....sorry, i dont want to play this game....
, in his famous article and subsequent volume, “The Clash of Civilizations.”