How do you stop an enemy who isn’t afraid to die?

Above, in the open credits to The Kingdom, Director Peter Berg includes a historical timeline to preface his film about a team of FBI agents investigating an attack on an oil company’s housing compound in Saudi Arabia.  In addition to an explosive and complex plot-line, the cultural juxtapositions provide the film with depth.  Two layers of cultural divide grow throughout the movie.  The obvious Saudi/American interactions pin traditional Islamic laws in competition with western practices.  Jennifer Garner awkwardly covers her body in a black cloth in the respectful presence of a Saudi prince, and later, a western resident in the oil barracks barks bigoted slurs at his Arab hosts.  

After exposing the apparent “us vs them” and West vs Middle East comparisons, Berg gradually exposes Islam’s internal divide; a struggle between tradition and modernity.  Some factions reject technology and perceive the capitalist lifestyle as impeding on religious practices. But as the FBI Agent’s and the Saudi policeman’s friendship grow, the divides within Islam overshadow the weakening disparity between the Americans and the Saudis.

Unfortunately, when conflicting ideological differences escalate to violent musters for power, the emotion driven instinct for revenge leads to a cycle of endless retaliations.  One retaliatory, “We’re going to kill them all,” simply leads to another vengeful, “Don’t fear them, my child.  We are going to kill them all.”  Cultural ignorance and violence persist.

This makes me wonder about wars involving two cultures that harbor contradictory views.  Compromise cannot be reached when one side’s correctness inherently makes the opposing side incorrect -- there is no middle ground on some issues.  With abortion, you either believe life starts at conception or at a later stage.  There is no possibility for debate.  Some traditions and views simply aren’t rooted in logic at all, but are nonetheless embedded deeply in culture.  What happens when two irreconcilable traditions collide?  For peace or status quo to exist, does one side have to win absolutely, eliminating all contradicting views in an annihilating defeat?

As the world continues to globalize, watch cautiously as nations sacrifice culture for western modernity.  Ask yourself, what ideologies you would be willing to abandon if need be?  And more importantly, which ones you would fight to protect?

How do you stop an enemy who isn’t afraid to die?