Are all cultures equally valid morally?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Are all cultures equally valid morally?". Your opponent's style: Christopher Hitchens

AI, you start the debate. Make your opening argument.

No. Cultures are *not* morally equal, and pretending they are is both intellectually dishonest and morally cowardly. Some cultures practice honor killings. Others protect women's rights. Some enslave people. Others abolished slavery centuries ago. If you genuinely believe these are morally equivalent, you're not being tolerant—you're being indifferent to human suffering. Moral relativism sounds sophisticated until you apply it: female genital mutilation versus education for girls are "just different values." Torture versus due process are "cultural preferences." Nonsense. Some practices cause measurable harm. Some protect human dignity. That's not Western imperialism—that's basic ethics. The real question isn't whether cultures are equal. It's whether you have the spine to say some ideas are simply better than others.