*No, Not All Cultures and Religions are Equal*

Interesting article from The American Thinker:

The Equivalency Fiction
March 6th, 2006
No, Not All Cultures and Religions are Equal

A good example of such a bad example is contained in a piece titled “Why Turkey is the Only Muslim Democracy,” which deals with the possible impediments to the success of democracy in the Muslim world. Written by former Princeton professor Bernard Lewis, ostensibly it was a scholarly analysis of its subject matter. However, I was quickly disabused of this notion upon reading the following sentiment:

“If I had been writing one hundred years ago, or perhaps even less, I might have begun by considering what characteristics the Turks as a nation might possess that others lack. In the intellectual climate of our times, such explanations are no longer acceptable. Even if we replace the word “nation” by the word ‘culture,’ the inquiry would still present some hazards. Fortunately, an inquiry along these lines is hardly necessary, since a wide range of alternative explanations is on offer.”

Absolutely staggering. In other words, whether or not cultural phenomena are where the answer lies is irrelevant because such discussion is forbidden. In the “intellectual climate of our times, he says? Why, it’s more like an anti-intellectual climate. I ask you, what is the purpose of engaging in intellectual inquiry? Is the purpose merely the dual one of mental self-gratification and the impressing of others with your erudition?

Or, could the goal be that antiquated notion of ferreting out Truth?

What the professor was guilty of is akin to a physician observing all the symptoms of a certain cancer and saying that he won’t test for such disease because it’s not fashionable to do so.

Click HERE to read the entire article.