I think it is a bit more complicated than "we end up in stupid situations, because a bunch of fanatics live in the past and when we go there, we better know what we are dealing with". But I probably misunderstood your point somewhere along the way. Still, Western civilization seems to have a knack for not making an effort to understand the history and culture of other people and instead often displays a tendency to just barge in and want to call the shots. Maybe there is room for improvement.

Which reminds me of a famous person who, when asked "What do you think of Western civilization ?", said: "I think it would be a good idea". It's almost not worth a cool point.