I have noticed that there seems to exist in Western culture the interesting phenomenon in which people--especially the more new-agey types--really like to tout the superiority, openmindedness, and true-to-nature-ness or whatever it's supposed to symbolize, of seemingly anything that is related to Eastern (or just otherwise non-Western) culture, and present it in contrast to Western or European culture; whether it be with religion and spirituality, social attitudes, food and health, etiquette... the variety of opportunities that people take to engage in this type of exchange with others is seemingly endless.
This phenomenon in which people downplay the importance of their own culture and snootily advertise the benefits of supposed attitudes or whatever of other cultures is something that does not happen elsewhere. It is unique to North Americans. Talking about the wonderfulness of cultures other than our own can be overheard in casual exchanges as commonly as conversations about the weather.
I think people who engage in it do it to seem knowledgable and worldly, to open the minds of others, as if they are supposed to be wise, travelled shamans, who ventured back to North America or Europe so they could spread some sort of invaluable insight from the distant lands that they returned from.
Being someone whose family is primarily Buddhist and from "Eastern culture", it usually just sounds somewhere between mildly entertaining to breathtakingly retarded to me whenever I happen to witness this behaviour from Westernized people (I won't say white people outright, because it can come from whitewashed/Americanized people of any ethnicity).
Conversely, being patriotic to ones own country or culture seems to warrant the reaction in others that a person is low-brow or culturally insensitive. If you aren't a fanatic of yoga, Buddhism, or the health benefits of green or white tea, or if you don't know how to brew your own chai, well then you must be an uncool and uncultured redneck! Why is this mentally processed and grouped into polar extremes? Can people not take any interest in cultures or ideologies other than the "standard" that they are used to, stay in their own little cultural bubble, and not be considered rednecks? Why can't people be proud of what they are associated with? I think the philosophies and innovations of the Western world are great and there is a lot to be proud of there. You guys have Socrates, tasty food, democracy, and people with blue eyes. Can it get any more awesome than that? Y'know, this whole thing kind of reminds me of angry teenagers who hate their parents without realizing just how much their parents have done for them.
Discuss/explain yourselves!
(Yeah I know that presenting this topic is kind of ironic lol but it isn't really through-and-though irony if you think about it.)
This phenomenon in which people downplay the importance of their own culture and snootily advertise the benefits of supposed attitudes or whatever of other cultures is something that does not happen elsewhere. It is unique to North Americans. Talking about the wonderfulness of cultures other than our own can be overheard in casual exchanges as commonly as conversations about the weather.
I think people who engage in it do it to seem knowledgable and worldly, to open the minds of others, as if they are supposed to be wise, travelled shamans, who ventured back to North America or Europe so they could spread some sort of invaluable insight from the distant lands that they returned from.
Being someone whose family is primarily Buddhist and from "Eastern culture", it usually just sounds somewhere between mildly entertaining to breathtakingly retarded to me whenever I happen to witness this behaviour from Westernized people (I won't say white people outright, because it can come from whitewashed/Americanized people of any ethnicity).
Conversely, being patriotic to ones own country or culture seems to warrant the reaction in others that a person is low-brow or culturally insensitive. If you aren't a fanatic of yoga, Buddhism, or the health benefits of green or white tea, or if you don't know how to brew your own chai, well then you must be an uncool and uncultured redneck! Why is this mentally processed and grouped into polar extremes? Can people not take any interest in cultures or ideologies other than the "standard" that they are used to, stay in their own little cultural bubble, and not be considered rednecks? Why can't people be proud of what they are associated with? I think the philosophies and innovations of the Western world are great and there is a lot to be proud of there. You guys have Socrates, tasty food, democracy, and people with blue eyes. Can it get any more awesome than that? Y'know, this whole thing kind of reminds me of angry teenagers who hate their parents without realizing just how much their parents have done for them.
Discuss/explain yourselves!
(Yeah I know that presenting this topic is kind of ironic lol but it isn't really through-and-though irony if you think about it.)
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