Canada is in Afghanistan to instill and maintain peace, democracy, and women's rights. The United States is in Iraq to bring democracy to that country. Great Britain supports both missions for the same reason - to bring Western values to non-Western countries.
Such a perspective is biased, culturally insensitive, and does little to promote peace.
First of all, we need to set the arguments aside that the West's interests in the Middle East have less to do with democracy and more to do with oil and power. Let's look at this from a purely cultural perspective.
One nation invading another and trying to instill its dominant culture upon the people is called hegemony. It implies cultural and moral superiority. Non-Western countries are not necessarily lacking anything in terms of culture or values. That culture and those values are simply different than ours. It is far too easy to look at non-Western countries through Western eyes, and make judgments that are ethnocentric.
For example, a problem in Afghanistan is figuring out who the Taliban really are. Most of the men have similar styles of dress and facial hair. As far as treatment of women goes, some of the so-called injustice is simply the way that the people interpret the laws of the Islamic faith. Thus, it shows a lack of respect to simply barge in and destroy a way of life because "we know better." This is just another form of colonialism -- and in this part of the world, it has never worked. The former Soviet Union tried.
The West should also stop throwing about the term 'democracy.' Most countries simply want peace. They do not want a government system instilled that they know or care little about. The word 'democracy' does not hold as much meaning outside of the West.
And what are these wonderful Western values anyways? Yes, we value how we treat our women -- the fact that the Canadian federal government has made cuts to the Status of Women department notwithstanding. We value a diverse cultural society, yet we invade foreign countries with a mind to make them just like us. We value peace, but we become involved in international conflicts that are causing the deaths of innocent women and children.
Look at our society. Do we really have a lot to be proud of in our modern, technologically advanced age? Our news, both television and print, is dominated by tabloid fodder gossip. People spend more time playing with their electronic devices than caring about deeper issues in life. Deranged people can purchase guns with no background check, and shoot out a school.
So when the West invades a country for that country's own good, we need to stop and think about what part of Western values needs to be instilled in these backwards, unenlightened people: the shallow, immoral side or the hegemonic, culturally superior side. After all, we know best -- don't we?
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