Ethnocentrism Hinders Effective Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Common Understanding Essay

As hu human beings, we argon inherently biased in our judgment of wall sockets and others- by others I stringent those who do non be hanker in the same socio- pagan group we connect to. Our inborn predilection to direct a subjective view of earthly concern leads to the common-and equally incorrect- assumption that we ar right in our ways, while others are wrong in theirs. This tendency of biased notions of heathen superiority in relation to other cultures is what political scientist William G. Sumner (1906) summed up with the coinage of the term ethnocentrism. By definition, ethnocentrism is the tendency by individuals to believe, unconsciously and through false assumptions, that their culture is unwrap than that of others. Notably, there is a running thread of collective concurrence among whites that we westerlyers, with our western civilization and attendant lifestyles, are superior to the backward races of Africa, which we conveniently recording label a jungle of savager y. The negative effects of ethnocentrism are manifest in international relations, where effective inter heathen communication is hampered by cultural differences and culture transitional challenges (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, 265).Nonetheless, to avoid collective generalizations by leading that it is we westerners rather than I, me and myself, who suffers this cultural hurt- a claim by which I unwittingly admit my ethnocentric conditioning to accept fellow tribesmen in my narrow worldview corner- I hereby set turn out to examine how I have severally paid homage to this populist bandwagon of cultural subjectivity in judgment. Finally, I will outline the parentage of remedy I have chartered to liberate myself from the blinding ignorance of ethnocentrism.Was it me, really, promptly that Im thinking from a relatively wider perspective? belatedly last year, I accompanied a close confederate of mine from Saudi Arabia (whom I will not disclose for the pang of ill-doing that g naws at my conscience) to pick some forms from our embassy. Well, it seems that since September 11, a kind of phobic disorder for our Muslim brothers has eaten into our national psych. At a personal level, I ever change lanes every time I meet one donning a flowing white garb and. err, an unusually long beard.Anyway, the security man at the embassy just ran the metal detector over my body and patted me on the back. But when it was my friends turn, the security guy, perhaps seeing Osamas ghosts, took a deep breath and started what was the most rigorous personal look for I had ever witnessed. He yanked the garb from the underside and ran the detector go on by inch, grinned with relief upon finding nothing (read bombs) and then allowed him to pass through. However, the issue here is not the security mans exaggerated fears, that the fact that I took it as normal, without bothering to question why it wasnt.The culture I grew up in had taught me to regard some religions as being sub stitutable with terrorism, and to dismiss others as pagan idolatry and pure superstition. In my valuation of world religions, Im often tempted to associate Islam with terrorism, a persuasion that is largely fed by media stereotyping in relation to incidences of suicide bombings. As for most traditional African religions, customs and rituals, I always tack together evidence to dismiss them as the demonic chants of a pagan charlatan.Their polygamy I pick outed the ways of an uncivilized smart set that still harbors the wild cavemans genes. On this score, my blindness was informed by the western glorification of the atomic family unit, which greatly contrasts with other cultures recognition of the unifying aspect of extended families and phylogenetic relation systems (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, 11). In regard to religious convictions, the only unbent Supreme being I believed existed is the Christian God I worship, whom I assumed held in contempt the ungodly ways of unchrist ian religions.For such a long time, I erroneously believed that with the exception of Christians, all other believers are doom for hell. This ethnic and cultural belief that the religion in which one leads is centrally important (Andersen, 2006) is one of the sub-divisions that promote ethnocentrism. Personally, it was my honest conviction until I complete that every believer thinks likewise of other religions. Remarkable is my said friends vehement assertion that Jesse the son of Mary (Christ) was an imposter whose apologue deceived throng that he was the son of God.Instead, he argues that Mohamed is the true messenger of Allah, the former of everything. Nonetheless, it will be a self-contradiction for me to consider my system of beliefs as not being the right one and the most appropriate. It is an inconsistence and admission of its falseness, which I consider the height of ideological hypocrisy. I recognize the reality that I belong to a particular culture and the fact that t o fit in my society I must conform to its cultural beliefs and value systems.However, to reconcile my cultural beliefs with other cultural worldviews, I find insight in the tenet of cultural relativism by Franz Boas, who argued that civilization is not something absolute, but is relative, and our ideas and conceptions are true only so far as our civilization goes (Degler, 1992 p 67). Accordingly, peoples behaviors, customs and beliefs should be understood in the context of their cultures. When we uptake the lens of our cultures to understand other cultures, there is always the risk of prejudice and biasness.The problem of ethnocentrism leads to failure of constructive communication and mis accords, which in turn causes cultural differences and conflicts (Moran, Harris and Moran, 2007, p 4). Similarly, the theory of functionalism by Bronislaw Malinowski posits that cultures are systems of structures by which different societies function. from each one society, therefore, has uniqu e needs which can only be served by its receive culture. As such, we can only understand the behavior of other cultures when we take that cultures viewpoint, to avoid the misconceptions created by our experiences within our own culture.References Andersen, M. L. (2006). Sociology understanding a diverse society. raw York Thomson/Wadsworth. Degler, C. N. (1992). In Search of Human genius The Decline and Revival of Darwinism in American Social Thought. US Oxford University Press. Moran, T. R. , Harris, P. R. , Moran, S. V. (2007). Managing cultural differences global leadership strategies for the 21st century, 7th Edition. New York Butterworth-Heinemann Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways. In McCann, C. R. (2004). individualism and the social order the social element in liberal thought. New York Routledge.