Ralph Peters has an interesting take on the prevalance of ignorance and irrationality in Iraq and elsewhere.
Addicted as we are to the buzz of daily developments, it's hard to stand back and recognize that the most powerful long-term threat to success in Iraq doesn't come from gunmen, but from the inability of many Iraqis to interpret events accurately.We take for granted the ability to separate fact from fiction, to identify that which looks, feels and smells reasonably like the truth. Yet the long Western struggle to view the world objectively is culturally unique. Especially in the Arab world, myth, comforting lies and cynical rumors trump facts that seem undeniable to us.
It makes things tough for our soldiers, who come from a Joe Friday, "just the facts, ma'am" civilization, yet must bring order to an Alice In Wonderland culture in which nothing is quite what it seems and things just grow "curiouser and curiouser."
Even in relatively "Western" countries, such as Russia or Greece, I've been astonished at the patently lunatic conspiracy theories to which even elites subscribe. Indeed, one of the many politically incorrect questions that needs to be asked is simply this: Is there a direct correlation between our appetite for accurate data and the success of American civilization? The answer seems obvious, but don't try raising that question at Columbia.
via the New York Post
Posted by Alan at August 18, 2003 09:34 AM