Something to Think About

Understanding and Honoring Cultural Differences

As the United States deals with other countries in matters of trade, peace-conflict, environment, and/or any of the other hundreds of issues we may have to discuss, I believe that it’s important for us to take a learned look at the culture, customs, values, and potential mindsets of each of the other countries we’re dealing with.  Without that learned approach, we can unintentionally sabotage our opportunities for success in whatever issue we’re currently dealing with.

I thought about this recently when people reacted negatively to President Obama bowing in greeting to Emperor Akihito from Japan.  I believe that the negative reaction President Obama received was from Americans who understood what the action meant in their culture, based on their upbringing.  In the Japanese culture, however, the bow (or lack thereof) may mean something far different. I am reluctant to pass any judgement on that bow, since I understand that I am not well versed in Japanese customs or culture, nor am I well versed in diplomatic protocols.  I do, however, understand that the bow may have been a component of achieving a mutually satisfying exchange of ideas, informal agreements, etc.

From my perspective, a bow may simply have been a respectful greeting, honoring the humanity of the person being greeted in a manner most appealing to the person being greeted.  From my perspective, it did not signify American subservience to Japan, nor did it signify any weakness of America.  I don’t believe the bow in any way weakened our position to negotiate or discuss our relative positions.  In fact, I think President Obama may have strengthened our negotiating hand by greeting the Emperor in a manner meaningful to his traditions.

This is similar to how I hope to greet you, should I ever have that opportunity.  I hope that I have the knowledge and grace to greet you in a manner that is pleasing to you.  With that greeting, I intend to honor your humanity.  After the greeting, we can go to work to discuss anything that is of importance – including those areas where we may strongly disagree.

In a recent TED presentation, Devdutt Pattanaik presented a far clearer picture of how this works than I can do here. His 19 minute presentation discussed the difference between the Western and Eastern culture, religions, traditions, and resulting mindsets. In a world hungry for conflict resolution, I think it is a video worth watching.  Just click on the link that follows.

TED Video

Something to think about…..

December 7, 2009 - Posted by Mark | Government, Leadership, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Values | Government, Leadership, Politics, Religion, Spirituality, Values