The West has cultivated an ethos of individualism, reason and tolerance, and an elaborate system in which every actor, from the individual to the nation-state, seeks to resolve conflict through words. The entire system is built on the idea of self-interest. This ethos rejects fanaticism. The alpha male, in our societies, is pacified and groomed to study hard, find a good job, and plan prudently for retirement. “While we in America are drugging our alpha boys with Ritalin,” writes Lee Harris, author of The Suicide Of Reason, “the Muslims are doing everything in their power to encourage their alpha boys to be tough, aggressive and ruthless.”
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/defend-the-individual-and-so-the-west/2008/08/05/1217702014852.html?page=2