World Cultures

Given difference in culture, do you see beauty or conflict?

Our culture reveals the cultivation of our communities over time and how the refined nature of our values bubble to the top. As we become more immersed in a global melting pot we are constantly at risk of diluting the knowledge and lessons that have shaped our heritage and community histories. The colorful essence of our distinguished cultures is rapidly losing saturation and becoming progressively more fuzzy grey tones. Rather than celebrating our distinguished cultures we tend to disguise who we are so that we are less different. Difference is wielded as problematic and it becomes a threat to those who simply maintain an honest disposition of who they are and where they come from. Individuals are expected to abandon their beliefs and values because of lack of understanding, dysfunctional thinking, and lack of leadership. Without real choice, we become desperate to grasp on to what we can before it only gets worse. We can, however, impact the world around us. Through expanding our knowledge and seeking the perspectives of others we can begin to see things more completely — and, with this increased insight we can begin to appreciate and benefit from the differences between us.