Originally Posted by
Logic
I don't disagree, but I think it's important to clarify whose core interests you are standing up for. Are you intervening in another culture because you think they are backwards, uncivilized, primitive, or wrong for ideological reasons (in this case you are just ethnocentrically imposing your own core interests and beliefs, the interests are not mutual, and we can easily look to history for examples of this), or because you are actually motivated by mutual interests, the maintenance of the collective, greater good (history also has examples of this).
The first and second group of reasons are practically the same - you just changed the words. When Allies fought Nazi Germany and stopped Hitler from doing whatever it is he was doing, WE WERE doing it because we thought he was wrong for ideological reasons and WE WERE imposing our own core interests and beliefs on him.
There are no 2 ways to go about it, Logic. Cultures often revolve around some ideology, and they are not some untouchable things beyond criticism and evaluation. They can be beneficial to mutual human cause or they can be hazardous. They can succeed or they can fail, like Soviet Communism.
Our upbringing will inevitably have an effect on formation of our psyche and world view. The only thing we can do is use our reason as best as we can to try and protect the interests which we all have in common. That includes extinguishing ideologies and cultures who miserably fail to do so.