[normloman]

> It's almost impossible to force cultural change on a country.

A few decades ago, a majority of Americans didn't support gay marriage. Now it has majority support, and is legal in every state. This didn't happen by accident either. A lot of groups were involved in promoting gay rights and funding legal battles across the country. This isn't the first time this happened either: women's rights, civil rights, etc. Even today, organized groups are winning hearts and minds in the fight for criminal justice reform and marijuana legalization. So it's very possible to instigate cultural change (perhaps force is a strong word). It just takes a long time.

[rayiner]

Maybe more relevant. We got rid of de jure segregation in the 1950's, but today today only 23% of black children in the south go to a school that is majority white. And nationwide, 40% of black children go to a school that is over 90% minority. The typical black child goes to a school where 60% or his classmates are low income. And those numbers are up substantially in the last 20 years. Its been really hard to change the culture of segregation with top-down directives.

[harryh]

It's probably easier to get a person to change their opinion on what someone else can do than to get them to change their own behavior.

[lordnacho]

This is a great example. Cultural change happens faster than most people imagine. Look at slavery, an institution that had existed for a long, long time. Look at atheism. Women's right to vote. All these things flipped from everyone being one way to another in a brief time (ok slavery is a bit complicated, having evolved differently in the US and UK).