A member of the military said this to me before heading off to Iraq. “I am happy to give up my life if it means giving the people of Iraq an opportunity for freedom.” Sounds good to me. I think it is wonderful that people are willing to serve our country to further the cause of freedom around the world. Jesus lifted high the concept of sacrifice in the service of others. I believe that God blesses people who, like our soldiers, are willing to give so much.
However, the idea that anyone is giving the people of Iraq the opportunity for freedom is a crock.
When we in America use the word freedom, we mean American style democracy based upon our Constitution and most importantly the Bill of Rights. Our definition of freedom results from several hundred years of development during the European Enlightenment added to several hundred years of developing American culture. Our ideas come from a combination of Jeffersonian concepts of an egalitarian society added to the ideas of Madison and Hamilton on the importance of a strong Federal government. Add to this mix a healthy measure of independent frontier spirit birthed by continual westward expansion and we have a quick look at where our culture comes from. Compare this to modern Arab society and the differences between the two cultures are cavernous.
I recommend reading the book, The Places In Between, by Rory Stewart. After the fall of the Taliban, he walks across Afghanistan. He lived with villagers, ate with them, learned their customs and languages, and fared well considering how foreign that world is compared to the one he grew up in. At one point he is part of a group of men about to enter a home for a meal. The men engage in an important discussion on who will enter the home first. This is important because it establishes the social hierarchy of the group. After they sort out who is the more important person, the same ritual is repeated inside as the group decides who will sit in the places of honor. It is hard to imagine a person living their whole existence in that society and then suddenly being thrust into our world and having to adapt to our confusing social mores. This is especially true for women, who are treated as differently in Arab culture as the night is to day. The only woman Mr. Stewart speaks with on his entire journey across Afghanistan is a correspondent with the New York Times. Another book I recommend is Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. It gives a good view of the current conflict in Iraq between American culture and Persian culture. The conflict isn’t just terrorists versus occupiers. It is a conflict of new versus old. And it isn’t working.
From all that I have read, it looks like the majority of people within Iraq have rejected representative government and chosen to follow tribal leaders and Imans. I believe the reason for this is the clash between Arab/Persian culture and Euro/American culture. We are hoping that Iraqis’ will adapt to twentieth-first century democracy. The Urantia Book helps us to understand why this is not happening. During the Dalamatia mission advanced beings known as the Caligastia 100 walked the earth and sought to enlighten the people of that day. These super beings attracted the most advanced people from the surrounding tribes, trained them and sent them back to teach their own people in their own unique ways (749.6). They did not try to eliminate the customs and beliefs of the time period. Instead they tried to improve them (749.7). “The human race had spent ages in acquiring the little religion and morals it had, and these supermen knew better than to rob mankind of these few advances, by the confusion and dismay that always result when enlightened and superior beings undertake to uplift the backward races by overteaching and overenlightenment” (756.1). The mission of the Caligastia 100 was to help the people of our world learn better ways of living at our own pace and in our own way.
The Caligastia revolt severely limited the scope and effectiveness of the original celestial mission to our planet. Adam and Eve were sent to reestablish and to revitalize the progressive mission of spiritual growth and material living standards of our ancestors. These two celestial beings tried to establish representative government with the surrounding tribes but were not successful (834.1). The combination of the people not being ready to receive a more enlightened form of government and the evil machinations of Caligastia were the reasons for the failure. Adam and Eve then organized their followers along a hierarchical command structure more easily understood by the local inhabitants. This episode tells me two things. Democracy is considered by The Urantia Book to be a more advanced form of government than tribal or imperial hierarchies. And, people who have known nothing but a hierarchical society have trouble adapting to a more egalitarian way of living.
The Urantia Book says that the uplifting of culture is always a gradual process (575.11). Slow, steady and patient seems to be the way in the universe. Adam and Eve struggled mightily to see progress. Their lack of patience led to their downfall. Advancing culture is a struggle on all worlds (578.3). People need to work hard and make wise choices in order to advance. There are no short cuts. The book says, “inferior minds will spurn the highest culture even when presented to them ready-made” (578.4). In other words, people who strive for betters things will receive them. People who aren’t ready to learn the new and better way, will not.
Persia has a long and amazing history. Their society is responsible for great advances in world culture. However, it will take time for the Iraqi people to adapt to the ideas of freedom that we Americans hold so dear. I believe that this will happen someday because democracy really is the most advanced form of government currently on our planet. Americans are in a big hurry and we want this to happen right now. We are learning the hard way that we cannot force freedom on people who don’t want it. It is costing us dearly in blood and treasure. Someday we will learn what our celestial helpers have already known. Time is on God’s side.
God Bless You,
William Whitehead
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