Differences in the World - Case Study Example

Breaking Barriers in a World of Difference Globalization, defined by some scholars as a process where there is an increase in cultural, economic and political exchange and interchanges around the world, has significantly affected how many the peoples of different societies view the world, and as well as how do they define their own unique identity against the other cultures that they are exposed or dealing with. It is true that globalization has opened borders on many societies and communities, and that it has also able to break some of the barriers that separated one community or one society from the other. Through the advances in trade, communication, and as well as technology, globalization has enabled peoples from different parts of the world, with different cultural backgrounds, to meet one another, deal with one another, and exchange both economic goods and cultural knowledge. At first glance, it actually seems that globalization can become one powerful tool to gain better understanding and appreciation of different cultures, and break historically-rooted cultural stereotypes, given that globalization has enabled different peoples around the world to know more about the culture and way of life that other people from other corners of the globe possess. The sad thing is, despite the opportunities that globalization has offered for people to understand and appreciate more other cultures and other ways of life, it has even fostered adverse reactions among other people, wherein certain cultural groups now even identify themselves in a way that they are able to perceive themselves as opposed to others; in other words, despite globalization, other cultural groups reacted in a way that they would like to differentiate themselves from other cultures (in a negative way), and make this differentiation the defining aspect of their own culture. This attitude only breeds suspicion and misunderstanding between different cultures. Take for instance the division between “pro-soccer” and “anti-soccer” Americans as described in the work of Franklin Foer (Foer 235-248). According to Foer, globalization has actually failed some of its expectations, both economically and culturally, given that majority of the world’s nations remain poor, and that some cultures actually fear that “globalized culture” will eventually erode their own unique cultural identities (Foer 4). In order to illustrate the failures of globalization, particularly in its failure to promote the homogenization of culture (and even attracted the reversion to old cultural identities and hostility to other cultures), Foer actually used the ever famous worldwide sport of soccer (Foer 235). Looking at the feud between pro-soccer and anti-soccer Americans, Foer actually found out that Americans who hate soccer even stated that “that hating soccer is more American than apple pie, driving a pickup, or spending Saturday afternoons channel surfing with the remote control…” (Foer 240), and that “people with actual power believe that soccer represents a genuine threat to the American way of life” (Foer 240-241). In fact, as Foer wrote, “The former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jack Kemp, one of the most influential conservatives of the 1980s, a man once mentioned in the same breath as the presidency holds this view. In 1986, he took to the floor of the United States Congress to orate against a resolution in support of an American bid to host the World Cup. Kemp intoned, “I think it is important for all those young out there, who someday hope to play real football, where you throw it and kick it and run with it and put it in your hands, a distinction should be made that football is democratic, capitalism, whereas soccer is a European socialist [sport].’’ (Foer 241) In this case, it can be seen that despite the windows that globalization has opened, particularly in letting other people see the dynamics of other cultures, or even other pastimes for this matter, some cultural groups actually resist even the mere idea of accommodating other cultural ideas, leading to xenophobic or even racist ways of thinking, just to preserve their own unique cultural identity. As Foer clearly showed, soccer, as a sort of cultural symbol actually became a valid ground for the cultural wars in America, wherein conservative Americans used a hate for soccer to show the unique cultural identity of being an American, associated with the game of baseball or American football for instance (Foer 235-248). In addition, Foer also showed that pro-soccer Americans used soccer to represent their liberal politics; that is, to their desire for more openness, cosmopolitanism, and understanding of different cultures away from, strict conservative American values. I think that such thinking stems from a fear of cultural erosion or cultural disintegration, wherein the influx of foreign culture would eventually disintegrate and overwhelm their own cultural identity. In addition, I think that this more prevalent for cultural groups who think that they have a superior culture overt the others, or that they have the best way of life to be followed, wherein this situation facilitates the thinking that other cultures are not just a threat, but must be eradicated altogether to preserve their own cultural identity. Such kind of thinking is again reflected in the narrative of Kwame Anthony Appiah in his essay “Moral Disagreement” (Appiah 378-389). In this essay, Appiah actually argues that different cultures have different ways of life; however, some cultures actually fail to understand the dynamics of other cultures, leading to the fact that some cultural groups often judge as taboo, uncivilized, or barbaric the acts of other cultures (Appiah 378-389). Take for instance the cultural practice of the Akan group in Africa (Appiah 381) specifically on how do they organize their families. According to Appiah, In short, the conception of the family in Akan culture is what anthropologists call matrilineal. A hundred years ago, in most lives, your mothers brother - your senior maternal uncle or wofa would have played the role a father would have been expected to play in England. He was responsible, with the childs mother, for making sure that his sisters children—the word is wofase—were fed, clothed, and educated…(Appiah 381) In this case, when some cultural groups actually look at such kinds of familial organization, they tend to dismiss it as outdated and irrelevant, especially when the way they organize their family is different. Of course, one of the main losses here is the fact that a certain cultural group fails to appreciate, understand, and learn from the cultures of other peoples from the different parts of the world. With the world still full of armed conflicts, especially between industrialized, western Christian societies and Middle Eastern Islamic societies, I think that such kind of thinking only facilitates the continuation of cultural misunderstandings which may breed a continued thinking of hate and strife between these societies. In this case, it may be possible that the continued practice of defining one culture through the “us versus them” thinking would only lead to more conflicts, and would fail to give the world a chance for lasting peace and prosperity, a situation that many people around the world hopes to realize through globalization. In this case, for the world to achieve the peace and prosperity that it longs, and for the dream of cultural understanding and mutual respect to be achieved, it is actually important to refrain from identifying one’s cultural identity from a “we versus you” perspective. In this case, the different forces of globalization, such as mass media, communication, trade and international relations is important, in order for the different peoples of the world to see and understand why there are different ways of life, and why it is important to respect one another. Works Cited Appiah, Kwame Anthony. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2007. Print. Foer, Franklin. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. New York: Harper Perennial, 2005. Print. Read More