In response to Sufia Khalid’s column “Saudi Arabia: A World Away — but not that far” (Feb. 28, p.7), it’s naive to say that any culture or lifestyle is perfect, or that one is better than the other, or that one is “slowly crumbling.” America definitely has issues — divorce rates, substance abuse and prostitution. But these kinds of issues aren’t limited to the United States and they do not make American society as abysmal as Ms. Khalid portrays.

What Ms. Khalid fails to mention is that American women at least have opportunities to terminate teen pregnancies and to get equal, fair divorce settlements. American women can drive to their workplace, and when a woman’s motherland doesn’t let her study alongside men in the area of her choice, there are plenty of American colleges and universities willing to enroll her. Americans can also freely express themselves through clothing without having to be scantily clad. There are all kinds of people in this country from various cultures, religions and upbringings who, because of their beliefs, do lead modest, pure and respectful lives. Much of the technology that other countries thrive on was developed in America by brilliant men and women who chose an excellent education over a night of drinking and partying.

Personally, I enjoy being able to wear my Red Sox hat instead of a headscarf, and I don’t think my morality is compromised because of it. Likewise, I appreciate that some things that do plague American society are not as prevalent in Saudi Arabia. Every society has its good and bad, its stable and unstable parts. Perhaps a more prevalent problem in America besides the ones Khalid cites is that many people continue to narrow-mindedly come up with sweeping generalizations and stereotypes that are false.

Denise LaForgia COM ’07