Since the low rates cannot possibly be due to good graces of the barbarous Muslim culture living in those countries, perhaps it must be the alphabet.
That must be it.
And since there is no love in Middle Eastern families, who aren't that close anyway, the reason why their kids don't buzz off to live on their own must be that they are all perverts who get off on seeing their siblings in nighties.
All this debate boils down to is this: It is so very difficult to explain the fact that other cultures have other ways, which, while different, are not necessarily bad to people who only know their own culture.
Here is an example: When I was a kid, an American family lived in our building. Although I didn't speak any English at the time, I played with their kids all the time - jumping ropes, singing songs, playing hide and seek, etc. I still remember the day I learned that their parents actually PAID THEM MONEY to do the dishes after a meal!
I was so sad for them, for there was no doubt in my mind that this was a clear sign that there was no love in that household - kids would of course help their parents any way they could, out of love, respect, and a sense of duty, NOT because they were paid. Paying a kid? For helping her mom with the dishes? It was unthinkable for me.
I remember bringing my American friends cookies that my mom baked and stuff because I thought their mom didn't love them at all :-)
Then I grew up, looked around a bit. Learned about the American culture, customs, and way of life. And saw that paying kids for carrying out household duties is not a sign of lack of love in American families.
There is a lesson in there somewhere for those of us who judge other cultures and their way of life through the lens of their own only. |
