[thechat] READ AT YOUR OWN RISK: Open Letter to America from a Canadian

[Luther, Ron]

Hi E,


Interesting stuff.  Sounds like a fascinating academic effort!

Oh - and a HUGE "+1" on the power of names and naming!

;-)


Which leads into a quibble:

<snip>
In any case, cultures evolve.
</snip>

Ah, but different cultures 'evolve' (or at least change) at different rates
and at different mile markers in time.  So it shouldn't be surprising if
remnants of 'lesser evolved' cultural behavior still exist here and there
in the world today ...

History is definitely not my string suit ... so I ran a quick link or two on
'debtor prisons'.  I found the expected links to eighteenth century Ireland and England. I also ran into an unexpectedly contemporary editorial from an
unhappy Canadien claiming thet debtor prisons are making a comeback in Ontario
as current economic conditions create more 'deadbeat dads'.

Running a few links on 'indentured servitude' turned up the expected links to
colonial america, slavery, and the tobacco industry.  It also turned up human
rights links to contemporary abuses in Asian locations like Nepal.  It was a
little more effort finding links discussing the indentured servitude of whites
in America --- and most of that seemed to deal with the Irish in the mid 1700's to mid 1800's.

 .... so these 'remnants' exist.

Now the word "evolve" is an interesting word.  It typically carries with it
a boatload of upper class white European religeous baggage through
connotations of 'progress', 'improvement', 'refinement', and nearerness to
god.

<some additional mental background notes>
* I've been reading a number of exploration books from the mid-1800's lately
and found the white European encounters with the 'base savages' to be
particularly interesting.

* I've probably watched far too many Star Trek episodes applauding the 'Prime
Directive'.
</notes>

Obviously cultures have many aspects. Technology would, at best, be a small
portion of what defines a culture.

But since we have different cultures at different points along this
'evolutionary scale'.  And since their continued progress is also likely
to be made at different rates.  We [already have seen | currently see |
will continue to see] clashes and tension where the interests of those
disparate cultures fail to coincide.

At a policy level, I think these 'clashes' could involve things like the
attempt to sell or promote birth control in Latin America.

At a technological level, we have the potential for continued acts of
terrorism.


Although direct intervention attempts have been and continue to be made, I
don't think they have been shown to be particularly effective agents for
cultural change.


The question/troll then is "What ARE effective agents for effecting
accelerated cultural evolution?"

{Damn - sounds like an essay question!}

RonL.
(Former (one-time) college prof.)