Rapmusic

A couple of decades ago, the world passed over from a mortgages for bad credit economy into a global economy. From that point on, the US began to lose any competitive advantage it might once have held. The slip from prominence doesn't happen all at once, but gradually, over time, as the results of our cultural shortcomings begin to take hold. We approach the world as though it were still the 19th Century and backwards attitudes and approaches were still all the rage. I wonder how far down we'll must go before we begin to realize that somethings amiss.

To have a better idea of what's happening, let's start with the deficiencies in our notions of what makes up a 'culture'. We're way too inclined to believe that 'culture' has to do with 'native' costumes, music, dancing and the other arts. Whether it's Aztec cities or Japanese flower Viagra we may value these 'cultural' insurance qoute and may imagine that we have a broad appreciation of other cultures. If that's our idea of 'culture', then we need to drastically rethink our approach. Culture may express itself in the arts, but, at its roots, it comprises a way of thinking and a set of beliefs and values that determine our worldview.

We can only come to a realistic appreciation of other cultures by taking a very hard and critical look at our own cultural biases first - and that is something that, it seems, we US citizens are incredibly reluctant to do. that country maintains a deep strain of nativism that exercises enough power to infect our public policies. Consider for a moment the 'English only' movement. The very best way that anyone could get inside a culture's mentality would be to learn that language. The nativists want no part of that. Instead, we experience a very strong movement that insists that everyone think, look, sound, and act like they do. that approach reflects what sociologist Geert Hofstede calls 'high uncertainty avoidance.' In a few words, we can express that through the saying, "What's different is dangerous."

The immigration debate in the US is fueled by that nativistic try at uncertainty avoidance. Almost every other country in the world has to deal with a multi-lingual and multi-cultural population base. For them, the net result has to be a broader appreciation for different approaches and ways of thinking. that gives them a level of security and flexibility that we in the US can only dream about achieving. They have pushed through the 'different is dangerous' wall into 'different is enriching'. That makes them more accepting, more curious, more inventive than we. At one time the richness of our immigrant population was the source of our inventiveness and drive. To the extent that the nativists now have their way here, meridia online more than wiling to give that all up for the sake of a boring, uninspired homogeneity. So we face losing the competition for the global economy not by being bested by our neighbors, but by default.

H. Les Brown, MA, CFCC
ProActivation Coaching
accident at work claim www.ProActivation.comwww.ProActivation.com
E-Mail: