Re: NY Times Article about Warrior cultures (Purple/Red memes)

That is all very well and good, but what do you do if that particular group wants to cut your head off with a sword, blow you up with a bomb or shoot you down in the street with a Kalishnikov. Remember one thing, none of the warrior tribes who roamed over the Eurasian landmass for more than a thousand years sat down peacefully and gave up warfare. They were met with fierce resistance, not good drinking water, food, clothing, shelter, etc.

They took what they wanted to take, the rest they destroyed. The ancient cities of Europe, Central Asia, Western Asia and East Asia are full of ruins left  by these warrior cultures. You are missing the point of the article. Until these groups are dealt with, the needs you mention will be rejected by them as they tie you up and cut your head off.

We cannot ignore the lessons of history, otherwise WE will be history, and the whole world will be worse off for it. LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR. I AM NOT FOR PERMANENT WAR, ONLY STRONG AND VIGILANT DEFENSE OF WHAT WE HOLD TO BE THE BEST OF OUR CIVILIZATION, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE CLEAN AIR AND WATER, FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER, ETC. It is just that there are too many “warriors” among the people of the Middle East and Central Asia who look at our world like the Huns, Goths, Visigoths, Vandals, Mongols did the Roman and Medieval world, as places to conquer and subdue.

You have a good heart and an even better soul. We need people like you, but please, and I say this as a holder of a Master's Degree in History, do not, as Harris describes, forget that these cultures want to destroy the West, not only becasue of what we have done to them, but because of what we are. Because we went through the Renaissance, Humanism, the Enlightenment and they did not. We have to also reach out to those among them that want to go through these stages as fast as they can to achieve the level of technology and stability we have achieved. If we show our mutual enemies in these cultures that we don't care about these values, then no one else will.

I suggest you do a lot of reading in historical and political texts dealing with Asia, Africa and even Latin America, although there is not much left of the warrior cultures there, that balances both the positive and negative sides of the stories their histories and politics tell. Don't just be one-sided with the peace, love and beads crowd. Being sensible and practical is the one way we can help those at the lower memes (unhealthy aspects of) move up the spiral and eventually make the leap to second tier.

A lotus for you,

Jubu