Culture

Discussing culture in one of the previous classes really interested me. Sometimes, I feel like we get so caught up in thinking that everything should be Americanized that we lose sight of respecting other cultures. We are not the only country that exists in the world! There are other other cultures. For example, as Americans, we think that in order to survive, we have to compete and be succesful. However, in countries such as Japan, loyalty and trust is valued more highly than competition. On the other hand, there are some American principles that are pretty standard worldwide. A great example is time for business meetings and appointments. Just about every culture that I know of considers being on time to business-related functions a must. On the other hand, not all countries consider being on time to a recreational function a must. In many European countries, when people get together for a party, even though the party may start at a certain time, people don't show up for the party till much later. In a way, this is an American concept too as people think it is the cool thing to show up fashionably late at an event and not be on time (unless you are coordinating the event, that is!). God made each culture different and unique. In order to love one another, we must be respectful of cultural differences across the world. On one final note, this is true for gestures. A good example is "giving the bird" or "flicking some one off." In america, it is represented by sticking up the middle finger. However, in Germany, flicking someone off can be done by showing the "peace sign." So when you travel or go to places with different cultures, please have a general understanding of what the culture is like and do not do something taboo.