Culture Wars

Since 2001 there has been a growing debate over the relationship between Islam (specifically Middle Eastern) and Christianity (Western). There is anger and resentment on both sides as some Christians have labeled Muslims as "terrorists" and religious fanatics while some of the Middle-East sees the west as unholy, perverse and in a state of moral decay. I feel the problems arose because of an inability and in some cases an unwillingness to understand and respect each other's culture. This has boiled over to swallow entire nations such as Iran and the United States whose icy relationship is culture based in my opinion

There are many events in recent history that can be attributed to this religious and culture standoff. Events such as World War I, the 1973 Oil Crisis, Gulf War and September 11th 2001 can all be traced to this culture war. As the fear and likeliness of terroristic events increase, many people wonder what steps can be taken to alleviate the tensions before it is too late.

A first step to take is to bring both sides together to foster both conversation and intelligent discussion. Presidential candidate Barack Obama has argued for conversations with Iran and other nations the U.S. has had tense relations with. While the politics of this move can be argued to no end, I feel the general underlying idea is a good one. Some critics may feel this is a show of weakness on the part of the United States to have discussions with nations such as Iran but I feel as human beings nothing wrong can come by talking to your so called enemy. I would like to see these discussions become a reality because I think the world will be better because of it.