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Honestly it seems like an understatement. Rather it's being dominated by people who actively hate one's culture and openly boast about being the best at exterminating it.
I'm no Religious man, but I certainly feel more free to live a normal human life in an Islamic theocracy than in the modern managerial state. And I say this having experienced the downsides of both. At least with the theocrats the rules are not constantly changing and there is a defined limiting principle you can invoke to keep the peace.
I’d be interested in reading about your Islamic experience, if you’ve written it up anywhere.
Last year, I had a fascinating conversation with a woman who spent the early 80s in Riyadh. It really made me think.
I usually avoid talking about my private life in too much detail on the internet, but one of these days I should do an effort post on the ambivalent relationship with monarchy and Islam I inherited from my father. There is definitely something there.
As for that story it is really funny in that it's so typically American. You guys have this exuberant confidence that is so outrageous it somehow wraps around from obnoxious to endearing.
It's not always a good, I've seen American cultural insensitivity blow up many things, but at heart I can't help but admire this unabashed patriotism and enthusiasm about one's way of life.
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