Keys to Understanding
I
have had the privilege of having experienced both western and non-western cultures;
however growing up with mainly a non-western culture with its values has shaped
my assumptions of everything that’s outside my culture. I was taught to value, respect and take
care of my elders. For example when our parents, elders or other relatives need
care we are responsible to care for them as just as they took care of us in our
earliest stages of life. I
was taught to never speak back to, not only elders, but to anyone who’s older
than I. Even something as small as
addressing elders by their first name is seen as extremely disrespectful.
Because of this many younger Somali people address any elder as aunt or uncle, grandmother
or grandfather. This cultural rule has even made it difficult for me to address
my professors by their first name.
Throughout my years in schooling I have struggled with balancing my
Somali culture with the American culture.
Therefore I have developed the assumption that westerners do not care
for their elders. I have come to this conclusion by observing many elders being
put into nursing homes.
In
the article “Cultural Assumptions and Values” by Stewart, Danielian, and Foster
(1998)” the authors state “what is an assumption for one individual, or for one
culture, may be a value for another individual or for another culture” (158)
Having said this, it is clear to me that the assumptions I make are fully coming
from my cultural teachings, which have given me a very narrow vision. What I was taught to value is “karma”,
which means, “What you put out is
what you get back”. I was told that if I took care of my elders now, when I
reach an age where I need assistance, I will be helped out by the younger ones.
So when I came to America and saw elderly folks put into nursing homes I
immediately thought that they didn’t take care of their own elders and
therefore they received “karma”. My assumptions have led me to look at the
elderly and the younger generation of America differently.
I
have recognized that making a broad assumption about everyone from a culture
that is different from mine is dangerous.
This is because we lack knowledge about the unseen and implicit differences
in each culture. Along with my
assumptions came a certain judgment of negativity placed upon others that
tended to make my own culture be superior to another culture. What I failed to
realize is that my view of the western world was based on views of that culture
only. I forgot to I forgot to assess my own culture as
well. I see that if one looks deeply, there are people of my culture who don’t have
the same view regarding “elders” just as there people of the western world who
highly regard their elders. With regard to how elders are treated, the
perception of the world from the way I viewed it became very narrow. That is why I needed to go out of my
bubble to see the differences and similarities within each culture and how
these relate to values and behaviors. In the reading (Stewart, Danielian, & Foster, 1998) I
learned “a frequent objection made to efforts to analyze any culture is that
people differ from one another in many ways, even within a culture, and any
attempt to describe a people according to broad generalizations, such as
cultural characteristics, results in a stereotype” (158).
In
conclusion I have learned that regarding culture and people in general there’s
more to it than the eye can see. We should reflect upon our own behavior and
values, so that we won’t be negatively blinded by the narrow views to which we
hold so tightly. By seeing that,
at the end of the day, no one person’s view is necessarily better than another’s.
The key to solving many issues
that plague us internally and externally is to try to understand others. This
will benefit you individually, as well as your community.
References
