Not all Cultures are Equal (and You Know it)

Not all cultures are equal – and you know it. If you had to choose between two rich

oil-producing countries, which one would you rather live in, Norway or Saudi Arabia? I

guess you would choose Norway, and not because of the weather… So why is it that most of you

would probably choose Norway over Saudi Arabia? At the end of the day, you would opt for Norway

because of all the freedoms you can enjoy in a Western democracy: freedom of speech,

freedom to be who you are, freedom to be an independent woman. In other words,

you would choose Norway because of its values. And that is what this video is about.

Something strange has happened in the cultural discourse: now you are only allowed to say

good things about other people. Why is it that when people talk about other cultures,

it always sounds just like the way I talk to my 4-year-old son when he comes home

from kindergarten with a drawing – Wow, that’s so nice and colorful.

Now let’s put it in the bin under the sink. 😉 I just don’t buy into this. You can criticize

any group of people for anything they do. You can criticize me as an Israeli, a Jew, a father,

a tour guide, and even as a Britney Spears fan. Like everybody else, I am part of many groups,

The main reason some people in the West don’t think that some cultures are better

than others is that they don’t appreciate just how good they have it. They take for

granted all the freedoms they enjoy, forget the high price that was paid in the past to

introduce these values of human rights and democracy and forget that only a small part

of the world population enjoys these liberties. Let me remind you that if you can go outside,

to a public place, and shout that you hate the government or hate God, you are very,

very lucky. Only about 15% – no, more than 20% – of the world’s population enjoys that right.

Try doing it in a Muslim country – say that you hate the government or that God doesn’t exist. If

you’re a pro-Palestinian student at a University in the West, I positively encourage you to do it!

Another issue that makes it difficult to discuss cultures is the rise of multiculturalism and

cultural relativism – according to which you can’t say that one culture or one set of values

is better than the other. Somehow, the West has confused this with liberalism, even though it’s

actually the opposite of it when you think about it. I find it very easy to demonstrate

how wrong the theories of multiculturalism and cultural relativism are. If you’re saying that

you can’t judge other cultures and that no one set of values is better than another,

how can you then at the same time say that you support women’s rights? Or gay rights? Do you

know what would happen to a lesbian Muslim girl if she came out of the closet? She would be put in

a coffin. Is that wrong? I think it is wrong, and I am very interested to hear what a multicultural

person has to say about the matter… Do you really believe that these cultural values are equal?

Most Arab Muslim countries are not democratic; zero minorities are flourishing in Muslim

countries – Jews, Christians and Hindus are all disappearing from them. And they have no human

rights or women’s rights. In Gaza, unmarried women need a man’s permission to go outside.

Do you think that is ok? The vast majority of the worst countries for the LGBTQ community are

Muslim. As a multicultural person, do you think it’s ok to imprison and execute gay men and women?

Another reason people don’t want to talk about values is that it scares them. It affects you