That's heavy and deep. And to avoid getting into the Bush bashing session that i fear is soon to follow this, that's all I'm going to say. Gl to them, and ironic as it might be, God Bless.

given how easy it's becoming to move internationally and the rates people are doing it the whole world will be amalgamated into one superculture eventually anyway...

'THE United States didn’t set out to eradicate the Mandeans'
Did European explorers set out to eradicate the cultures of the americas? down under? africa? *shrug*

'Mandean activists have told me that the best hope for their ancient culture to survive is if a critical mass of Mandeans is allowed to settle in the United States, where they could rebuild their community and practice their traditions without fear of persecution.'

GL to them for sure, america is a melting pot - if they moved there more than likely they would end up living like americans, their kids would be americans, and their ancient culture would be lost in the end anyway.

Well there is a difference between 'setting out' to eradicate a culture, and going through with it once you realize you can selfishly benefit by not worrying that you are eradicating the culture. European explores WERE guility of this in the americas, australia, africa, etc.

And America (and maybe Americans) might be guilty of this now. Even though Americans do not want to eradicate Mandeans per se, there is a desire to make the whole world western, democratic, and capitalistic. We capitalistic, democratic, westerners think that is a good thing even if it is at the cost of OTHER cultures.

And that is entirely my point.