To the_discarded, Africa is the most priviledged continent on the earth. It's natural resources are abundant, it's people populous. Aids is a recent phenomenon. Yet THEY have the lowest suicide rates even with the new diseases and their hardships. We do not consider ourselves worthy to live despite all our advancements, whereas everyone I've met from there has an incredibly large ego despite the fact that they contribute nothing to civilization.
To me, your views come off as rather ethnocentric (and, dare I say it, subjective?). Which is fine, but I present and hold true to the counterpoint.
Africa is the most privileged country on Earth? Not after European powers began conquering and dividing every aspect of the continent, leaving Africans with little
but their natural resources and population. They formed cultural barriers that did nothing but create hostility and instability among Africa. Invaded cultures hardly ever prosper (especially when invaded in an unproductive manner).
Besides, ever thought that people in more privileged countries have even larger egos, despite the fact that we contribute to making society greedier and less humane? Africans have some of the most divorce cultures and languages.
There's a contribution. Too bad they've had everything else ripped from them, deterring them from greater contribution.
Everyone
you've met from there has an incredibly large ego. That's in relation to
your experience, which is most definitely not the end-all, be-all. Everyone
I've met from there is not egoistic at all. Rather, they tend to be understanding and interesting. The most egoistic and cynical of people, in relation to my observation, are often in those nations other than third-world. But that's in relation to
my experience, which I dare not pass as fact.
In regards to the AIDS epidemic, so it's recent? And that makes it... what? Better? Africans do not have good healthcare systems (sometimes, they lack healthcare systems at all). Anti-retrovirals, used in the treatment of retroviruses such as HIV are not available. That, to you, is privileged? Developed nations have this. Africa (for the most part) does not. Their HIV has become full-blown AIDS before any American has time to utter the word
'hamburger'. And then what? They have not the ability to work. They have not the ability to prosper. They have not the ability to 'contribute to civilization'. Instead of
blaming them, why don't we consider this a chance to learn (as many of us have been) and stop being so high-and-mighty? No one's particularly in the right. Privileged countries have done just as much (and frequently more) bad than anyone else.
The notion that Africa remains the most undeveloped continent even though they've some of the highest amount of resources is due in great part to slave trade, violation of human rights, despotism (in-forced and reinforced by other, larger nations), and incompetent governmental systems. What region
could contribute anything after having been robbed of what could have been? If this were to happen to... oh, say, Americans, we would be shaking in our thousand-dollar-boots and going to war with abandon. As soon as we get wind of potential bloodshed, we jump on the opportunity. And what does
that contribute to civilization? Absolutely nothing. That isn't to say if, in this day and age, Africans had the means to the military power they wouldn't do the same. They probably would. In most respects, we are no different than the continent at hand.
You consider the problem of AIDS to be a factor in deeming Africans uncontributory to the betterment of our world? But you don't consider Depression, suicide, and mental/emotional problems the same? Africa isn't the only place in which the suicide rates are low. Yeah, many Africans aren't trying to kill themselves. Would you rather that they be? Each day, 6 000 Africans die of AIDS (
http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/Africa/AIDS.asp). Over 30 000 Americans die of suicide each year. (
http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/suicide,
http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t060517.html). And what does this say about survival of the fittest?
Both AIDS and Depression are diseases regardless, claiming lives (with no discrimination as to the amount), neither any more beneficial than the other, neither group of people deserving the illness, and neither group of people asking for it.
Why should it have to do with some made-up difference in people based upon their ethnicity? So what it ain't our country? It's our WORLD. There does not have to be a "bad guy" one way or the other. We don't have to be so detrimentally separated. I think, instead of it boiling down to some discrepancy in culture, it's simply to do with how we've learned to cope, what we've grown up in, where our priorities stand.
Liberal policies and viewpoints often make me and (confidentially) my friends depressed. The same is true with the perverted conservatism of today. Deep down, many white males feel useless and unwanted, what do you expect when having pride in your race and gender is considered taboo?
I agree with this, to an extent. You say yourself that part of the issue is what they are exposed to. So then why chalk it up to character traits here?:
We do not consider ourselves worthy to live despite all our advancements, whereas everyone I've met from there has an incredibly large ego despite the fact that they contribute nothing to civilization.
It's simply, and again I state, to do with what we've learned based on example, and where our priorities stand.