I support multicultural awareness. It's a very American
idea. Despite our country's history of racism, slavery, and continuing
ethnic strife, America has always been the front runner for the acceptance
of cultural diversity. We were founded on it, if you'll remember. But
sometimes I feel that because we are so culturally aware as a nation,
we sometimes forget that Americans have a culture, too.
I recently took a wonderful class on multicultural awareness.
It was an eye opener, on many levels. One issue we discussed was that
many Americans, as they travel abroad, are perceived as arrogant, loud
and obnoxious. The class addressed this issue by stating that Americans
must take the time to become familiar with the customs and traditions
of the country they are traveling to. In this way, we can better adjust
our behavior to accommodate our hosts.
As a related topic, we discussed the issue of foreign travelers
coming to the U.S., and how Americans perceive and deal with them. We
learned that many American customs, such as direct eye contact and our
tendency to make casual physical contact, are offensive to other cultures.
As a result, the class stated that Americans must take the time to become
familiar with the customs and traditions of the foreign visitor. In this
way, we can better adjust our behavior to accommodate our guests.
No, you didn't just read a typo.
Somewhere along the way, it became politically correct for
Americans to subjugate their own cultural beliefs and practices in order
to avoid offending everyone else. Ironic, since American culture has been
the number one influence on world culture in general for the past hundred
years or so. Other nations (not all, but most) want our movies, our television,
and our fashions. They loved electricity and the automobile. They went
crazy over computers.
Are American's rude and arrogant? Sure. We have every right
to be. We invented practically everything the world values, after all.
But we also get that chip knocked off of our shoulder every now and then.
And when that happens, we become humble. We make the attempt to learn
our lessons and move on.
What I'm worried about is that Americans are being told
that we should be ashamed of our beliefs and customs. We should hang our
heads low because the rest of the world may view us as a bunch of loud-mouthed
jerks. Ok, I'll give this much ground-if we are traveling abroad, we SHOULD
make some effort to know the customs and traditions of our host country.
That's just good, old fashioned American manners. And should we make an
effort to accommodate the customs and traditions of our visitors? In the
interest of being a mature nation, I'd say "yes" to that, too.
But I firmly believe that making accommodations is not the same as ditching
our own cultural heritage all together.
America has been perceived as many things, depending on
which countries are looking. We are heroes. We are bullies. We are children
of peace. We are arrogant and proud. We get called a lot of names by the
rest of the world, but I think none of them sums us up better than what
we call ourselves.
Americans.
J.
Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson,
TX. He think his culture is the one, true culture.
Bye,
Bye Ms. American Pie