Are all societies and cultures morally equal?

[goesh]

Ken has put us on a real slippery slope. What about the jihadists that sought and had a good death via suicide bombing and not retreating from a fire fight when they could have? How much 'religious' inspiration does that inspire and how could that be measured? I recall as a young teen seeing on tv the buddhist monks immolating themselves in viet nam - how much did that really reverberate? I don't think religion can be easily dismissed from the equation. Look at our own cultural dynamics that unfold in a theatre of war - the band of brotherhood mind-set that develops and can't readily be explained by behaviorism or traditional cultural values. All notions of the flag, democracy, mom and pop back home and apple pie all go out the window in the first fire fight and something quasi spiritual IMO takes its place.

[Ken White]

All notions of the flag, democracy, mom and pop back home and apple pie all go out the window in the first fire fight and something quasi spiritual IMO takes its place.

Hands down -- all the rest is late night Dorm chatter.

[Schmedlap]

I don't think religion can be easily dismissed from the equation. Look at our own cultural dynamics that unfold in a theatre of war - the band of brotherhood mind-set that develops and can't readily be explained by behaviorism or traditional cultural values. All notions of the flag, democracy, mom and pop back home and apple pie all go out the window in the first fire fight and something quasi spiritual IMO takes its place.

I think most religions advocate values consistent with this trait, but I don't think the trait is derived from one's faith. We are pack animals. Canine teeth.