I sometimes see culture and western culture brought up in these discussions. It is a topic that warrants more attention.
I'll mention an important cultural change that was decisive for a particular group. Something called the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment.
en.wikipedia.org
Before the Haskalah (roughly 1770 to 1880) Jews were a lagging group. They did not produce any great scientists. Post-Haskalah there was a remarkable change. Exhibit A for the importance of culture and the possibility for transformative cultural change. It should be noted that the Haskalah left behind some parts of the Jewish community who held on to their prior culture. Remnants of this group remain, and they are a lagging group compared to more secular Jews.
The Enlightenment itself was a very important cultural change. As was the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution was in large part about culture. The key cultural change involved putting experience and the experimental method above venerated ancient texts as the preferred source of knowledge. A change in thinking that we take for granted, but was revolutionary and crucial.
There is hope for West Virginians. But they likely have to undergo some sort of Haskalah.
Interestingly, immigrant groups have little trouble picking out which parts of American culture are helpful for their advancement. Sometimes they pick up not-so-helpful parts of our culture, but that's another topic. I had some friends from India who loved it here but decided when they started a family that they didn't want their children raised here. An interesting and not unusual decision. More recently, I have become friends with an American couple that has lived in Holland for a long time. Their children were born there and consider themselves Dutch. The parents (from North Carolina) feel that it is much better to raise their children over there than here.
As an immigrant myself, I think it was a good thang to spend some of my formative years outside this country.
