Discussion Group – December 2022
The Discussion Group met on Monday 12th December at the Manor House. Prompted by the World Cup in Qatar, we talked about the extent to which we should be prepared to change our behaviour to conform with that of other cultures we visit, should we choose to go in the first place.
We had a wide ranging discussion and were largely agreed that it was both necessary and courteous to do so. We talked over the extent to which the values of our Western liberal democracies were universal ones, and whether attempts should be made to spread them to other cultures. Our efforts to do so, historically by conquest and more recently through trade had not been noticeably successful.
Our talked ranged through homosexuality being illegal and the treatment of workers in Qatar, through gun culutre in the USA to autocratic socities such as Russia and China. Islamic countries’ views on sex and the position of women in society were mentioned, and the recent outlawing of sex outside marriage in Indonesia was brought up. The huge changes in Western society in the last 50 years was discussed, when homosexuality in the UK was illegal and womens rights were very different.
It was noted that in the West we tended towards an acceptance of the values of other cultures, but this rarely seemed to be reciprocated even amongst immigants eager to settle in the UK.
We found ourselves at times straying far from the original topic. The East India Company’s policy of excluding Christian missionaries from India got a mention, and the view was offered that it was unwise to talk about Donald Trump when on holiday in Florida.
And that ends another year, and we shall start the new one by discussing fair trade, prompted by Dawlish being a fair trade town. With our track record we shall end up speculating about the wisdom of carrying coal to Newcastle.
Michael Heyden, Convenor
Please note that the views expressed by the Discussion Group may not represent those of the wider Dawlish & District u3a membership.