One’s culture is the foundation on which someone bases his or her life. Any alteration to these familiarized practices is seemingly unnatural and abnormal. This causes one to be greatly influenced to endure the life and practices they are already accustomed to. A person’s culture always informs how he or she views others and the world by influencing familiar cultural norms. As one first grows up engrossing a culture of their own, he develops his own set of cultural normalities. Once these standards are seized by ones mind, it becomes difficult for one to view the world and other cultures through the naive eyes they once possessed before.
In the short story “Dave Barry Does Japan” by Dave Barry, Dave subconsciously evaluates the “low standard” Japanese culture through the standards of his own. When Dave is appointed to the bathroom, he realizes it is “not good [or unsanitary] because the Japanese concept of “toilet” is basically the same as [the American] concept of “a hole in the ground someone forgot to put a toilet on top of. ” Because Dave is accustomed to the cultural normalities of a first world country, he views the standards of a third world country as abnormal and with dissatisfaction.
As Dave is used to the luxury of his own culture, he is reluctant to accept the impoverished of another. As people are encouraged to accept and consider the cultural practices of others, they are often subjected to do so only through incorporating the ideals of their own. When one is first introduced into the environment of another culture, he is often awed and shocked due the vast diversity to his own cultural normalities. As when someone is culturally taught and mentored to accomplish tasks a certain way, they naturally feel these practices are the only correct or most appropriate way to do them.
The Essay on Cultural practices
Culture, ethnocentrism and cultural relativity are the three terms which form the basis of this essay. There is an effort to define each of these terms in as precise manner as possible. Moreover some discussion on human attitudes and characteristics precedes the final answer to the question : can we judge a cultural practice as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ ? The answer is affirmative : Yes, all cultural ...
As this often leads to the misconception that other cultures are incorrect, many people struggle to accept them. In the short story “An Indian Fathers Plea” by Robert Lake, Wind-Wolf struggles to accept the American way of education as it contrasts to his cultural norm. Because Wind-Wolf is culturally “taught to watch and study the changes in nature”, he uninterested to consider the traditional American methods of education. As the teacher labels him a “slow learner”, he wonders why “the other kids in school are not taught about the power of beauty and essence of nature.
Because Wind-Wolf is not familiar with the customary American style of learning, he begins to perceive negative views of traditional American culture. When a culture diverses from one’s usual norm, he is likely to question it through the norms of his own. Although many times cultural norms lead for one to subconsciously distinguish a negative perception of other cultures, they can also help perceive a positive. As when one is faced with low standards or meager practices in life, he often views other cultures as an opportunity for escape or a chance for renewal and success.
In the short story “Where Worlds Collide” By Pico Iyer, due to their recently poor cultural economic opportunities, arriving Korean immigrants view America as the “land of opportunity. ” As these new immigrants arrive in the land of the free “they come out dazed [and] disoriented as they arrive in the land of opportunity with opportunities swirling dizzily, promiscuously around them. ” Due to the poor cultural norms they had recently inhabited, Korean immigrants feel they now posses more opportunity for freedom and the ability to achieve success.
As Americans view American culture as normal, immigrants acquire an ability to visualize it in a richer perspective. Culture is neither good or bad but only scaled determined in comparison to the cultural norms of the viewer. One might object that the way one views the world is not informed by cultural norms but rather by cultural advantages. For example when one culture is inferior to another, people of the inferior culture will likely crave what is distinct in the other. As this is a valid argument, one must first consider the normalities of his own culture before he can compare his culture to the next.
The Research paper on Cross Cultural Views In Healthcare
As a member of a dominantly ethnocentric American culture, it is easy to never ponder on the validity of non-scientific based or "factual" healthcare diagnoses and practices. However, American or western medicinal techniques are equally as inflected with cultural biases as systems more seemingly exotic or spiritually based. If this were not the case, hospital and medical care professional's web ...
One must realize cultural advantage is something people discover through cultural normalities. One can come to the conclusion that cultural normalities are the way people from various cultures view and compare others around the world. As there are many cultures in the world, one’s view of others is strictly based on the nature of his own. As this is true, it unfortunately causes a lack of diversity and ideas in many societies. Now knowing this true universal idea, one should consider viewing other cultures with an eye of optimism and open-mindedness rather than merely through the comparison of his own cultural standards.
