I've noticed the same phenomenon.

Partly it comes from the realization by thoughtful and fair-thinking progressives that Western (and especially, Anglo-Saxon) cultural chauvinism (or if you prefer, jingoism and nationalism) is not just a normal sense of loyalty and statement of faith to one's own culture and nation, but has too often been used to justify and promote cultural and economic imperialism, racism, nativism and militarism.

American liberals may have their hearts in the right place, but like Americans in general, have little experience with or knowledge of other cultures, and tend to view them through the same warped cultural lenses and filters through which they perceive their own. They have discovered how unfairly we see others, and have over-reacted, swung the pendulum too far the other way. They've gone from bigoted and prejudiced, to giving them a free pass, letting them get away with murder. Other cultures are not necessarily saints, but they aren't necessarily devils, either.

This is odd, because all Americans have recent ancestors that came from the old country, we shouldn't be this blind to other folkways, but we are. Its probably due to our brutally efficient system of integration and assimilation. (At least, if you can pass for white). If you're yellow, red, black or brown, or speak with an accent and dress funny, it takes a little longer.

This is as plain as day to me because I am bicultural, all four of my grandparents came to America (Tampa) as adults from the old country over a century ago. I was brought up in an immigrant neighborhood in a city with a very large immigrant population, I speak 19th century Havana Province dialect fluently and know the culture intimately, but I know yours well enough that I can pass undetected among you. I have done so all my life, and I have taken extensive notes.

Please don't take this personally, but you do not have a clue what you're talking about. You're like a fish, totally unable to understand the concept of "water", because you have never once been outside it, gasping for breath in the hot sun. You have no idea how other cultures view yours, and not all of THEIR stereotypes of you are due to prejudice and racism. I was brought up taught Crackers were hypocrites and two-faced, lazy, stupid, lacking in personal hygiene, and had no respect for learning or hard work. They were a cruel people who treated their colored folks horribly, almost like the Germans treated the Jews. They beat their wives, neglected their children, drank too much, their food was bland, their music insipid and their religion ridiculous. Of course, I went to school with "those barbarians", I had friends among them, dated their girls, and I knew their families, was mentored by their teachers. So I knew better. I learned the superstitions of my tribe were not necessarily the laws of physics. Its one of the advantages of growing up bi-cultural. But I'm still so grateful that I have fairly light skin, and you can't tell I'm Cuban just by looking at me. And I can still lapse into a perfectly acceptable redneck accent if I have to.

Yes, on the whole, I do happen to prefer my culture, my own North American subset of the broader Western European civilization we are part of. I too find Middle Eastern culture (and remember, not all Muslims are Arabs and not all Arabs are Muslim, and there are enormous regional, ethnic, religious and national variations) sometimes regressive and medieval; yes, even barbaric. But I've come out of the water and walked in the hot sun, and I've learned to breathe the thin, cold air.

As for "OK to rape their wives"...C'mon, Buck. Don't you read the news? We live in a rape culture. Our colleges are hunting grounds for predators, both male students and "townies"; even in our military, women are more likely to be raped by their comrades than they are to be injured in combat. The latest statistic I heard was one in nine, even worse at the universities. Do you think the women's movement is all about child care and equal pay? Wake up. Wife abuse and spousal violence (including murder) is endemic in American society.