4 ms·
Why would you want them to change? And change to become what? To become more like you? To me Western civilisation has this recurring feature to want other peopl
by gbog 10y ago
Why would you want them to change? And change to become what? To become more like you? To me Western civilisation has this recurring feature to want other people to be like them. It was the case with proselytism, colonialism, etc.
I understand a will to change a threatening country, or to get rid of a really evil tyran like Pol Pot. But a country having a different level of censorship of the media is not, to me, a casus belli.
We can be proud of many parts of Western values and culture and even whish more people adopted them, but then it should be like with a friend with some weaknesses, you'll be more friendly and show by example how to handle things differently, instead of taking distances or lecturing constantly.
So either you use brute force, against a major threat against your people or a tyran, or you try to promote the soft way your best parts, by showing their good effect on your own society. In this case, with all the very worrying problems we have, I would understand other countries like China to be sceptical.
And by the way, China has already embrassed many of the good (hear: useful) parts of Western culture, like science and law. But it takes a lot of time to implement and get the positive results, around 50 years.
- bovermyer 10y agoI don't even know how to respond to this. I was speaking generally of the desire to get along with others and work together towards a common positive relationship, not specifically of making China like the West. The bit about China "embrassing" (I assume you mean embracing) the "useful" parts of Western culture is neither relevant to this discussion, nor particularly constructive; it comes off sounding defensive more than anything else.
- gbog 10y agoYou were right in tell GP that if you want to change a country you should continue talking. But what I was reacting to is the idea that other countries should be "improved", which always mean to follow Western's value and culture. I've been living in China for over ten years, and I hope this admirable continent-sized country will never become like the USA or Europe. My wish for these people is that they continue to find their unique way to be happy.
- bovermyer 10y agoI get the sense that we're talking about two different things. I'm talking about keeping dialogues open in an attempt to avoid xenophobia-driven dehumanization of another culture. You seem to be (and correct me if I'm wrong) talking just about protecting Chinese culture from Western influence. Whether China needs to be improved or not, and who needs to do that, is actually irrelevant to this discussion. I just want to encourage people to work together instead of starting Cold Wars.