Western Guilt

            In universities and schools across the Western world kids are taught that people should be ashamed of their culture. They often point to things such as slavery, colonization, and wars as sources of guilt. The terrible thing about this push toward guilt about Western civilization is that the things that are being put up as what you should feel guilty about are true. Yes Western societies owned slaves and took part in colonization. The native people were treated brutally and horrible wars were fought.

            Yet what often gets left out of the equation are the positive things that Western society has done. For example, over 100 years ago people in America lived on less than $1 a day in today’s dollars. Yet in the span of just over 100 years Western society has helped lift more people around the world out of poverty. In America a car used to be a luxury item, now almost everyone has at least one. A more recent example of this is the DVD player. When they first hit the market a DVD player would have cost over $300. Today you can get a cheap one for around $30 and it will work better than the first ones that sold for the higher price.

            It is not only the standard of living that has been raise, but the advances in medicine have had a huge benefit for the world. Small Pox has been irradiated, Polio has been destroyed, and the advancement in AIDS drugs mean that people who contract the virus are still able to live full lives. Advancements in technology allow us to transplant organs from one person to another, let us talk with people from all over the world in an instant and travel in terms of hours instead of days. Western societies abolished slavery, extended suffrage to all adult citizens, and put the individual above the state.

            Yes Western society has somethings to be ashamed of, things we should never forget. But that does not mean people today need to be ashamed of the West. You should be proud to be part of a long standing and successful tradition. A tradition that has worked so well that people risk their lives to get here and take part in. So be proud to be an American, be proud to be part of the Western tradition, and be proud to be an individual.