Big Think

Jason Monborne commented on What is your definition of God? 100 words or less. on March 15, 2008, 5:58 PM

change

Jason Monborne commented on Does history repeat itself? What have we learned or not learned from the past? on February 7, 2008, 8:09 PM

History does not repeat itself: Human nature just never changes

Jason Monborne commented on Is there a clash of civilizations? on February 7, 2008, 7:57 PM

Aslan is angry. Evidently. But his conclusion about the absurdities of the differences between the West and the Muslim world is right on the level that he argues, which is one of politics, economics, and history. But there is a divide, and it is one of perception of change. For millenia the greater Muslim world has been left behind the West in terms of scientific advancements; indeed, until there was the oil boom over the last half century in Arabia and Asia, the majority of Muslim nations could have been categorized as third world countires, and indeed many still are. The acceptance of change, in temrs of scientific advancement, and all that necessarily follows--individuality, equality, secularism--is frightening to many in the Muslim world. The Western world has had many wars, and countless arguments over such means of change, that the ends have only recently become less controversial. Willing the Muslim world to accept these ends without the conflict of the means that the West has undergone is troubling, and bound to cause conflict. Time is the only remedy for not accepting the inevitability of a changing world; and it is the perception of the passage of time that is different. The solitary landscape of the desert world lends itself to an idea of permanence, to a patience that many in the West cannot embrace, let alone understand. And unless we learn it, we may fail in our attempts at a compromise with the Muslim world.

Jason Monborne commented on Is there a clash of civilizations? on February 7, 2008, 2:57 PM

Aslan is angry. Evidently. But his conclusion about the absurdities of the differences between the West and the Muslim world is right on the level that he argues, which is one of politics, economics, and history. But there is a divide, and it is one of perception of change. For millenia the greater Muslim world has been left behind the West in terms of scientific advancements; indeed, until there was the oil boom over the last half century in Arabia and Asia, the majority of Muslim nations could have been categorized as third world countires, and indeed many still are. The acceptance of change, in temrs of scientific advancement, and all that necessarily follows--individuality, equality, secularism--is frightening to many in the Muslim world. The Western world has had many wars, and countless arguments over such means of change, that the ends have only recently become less controversial. Willing the Muslim world to accept these ends without the conflict of the means that the West has undergone is troubling, and bound to cause conflict. Time is the only remedy for not accepting the inevitability of a changing world; and it is the perception of the passage of time that is different. The solitary landscape of the desert world lends itself to an idea of permanence, to a patience that many in the West cannot embrace, let alone understand. And unless we learn it, we may fail in our attempts at a compromise with the Muslim world.