Unveiled Artist
Veteran Member
This is a Journal. Read if if you will. Thank you, if you do.Looking down on western culture gets on my last nerve (And believe me, I have many nerves that like to act up on their own due to seizures); some things are just plain annoy them.
Seeing Western culture in a positive light can hopefully help people outside this culture appreciate our values, goals, and beliefs.
I was riding from my former college the other day. I was on the college shuttle, and the bus driver, a woman with whom I thought carcasian, fussed at the radio because a foriegner on the other end put down America. She cursed and said, "people from other countries come over here, looking for freedom, then when they find they have to pay f- taxes and work three jobs, all of the sudden America is a f- bad country. We [Americans] have no family values, they claim." The individuals who are American by birth, raised, and culture (using American as a culture rather than nationality) all of the sudden are stuck in the box where our politics define us personally. Yes, our political approaches are a bit messed up; and that does not reflect who we are as individual Americans.
Actually, the bus driver's family is from Iran. She was born and raised in America and tells me that in her country, the rights of women are almost near to none (for religious reasons?). People steal as much as people buy fast food in the states. The government system isn't for the people. It's just not safe. Yet, after leaving to be safe in our country and in our land; she said they complain.
I admit. I work as an English as a Second Language Teacher and I hear complaints too; and I also hear students say "we going to these classes. Taking care of our children. Trying to be an American. and these illegals (Yes, they said this) come in and mess it up for us. Taking advantage of the system"
It's not just politics, it's in religion too. We Americans (Refering to culture rather than nationality) have some differnet priorities or values than other countries. A lot of which I read and hear have such a negative affect on children and youth. Taking prayers out of schools. No "God" in the pledge of alliegence. and so on...
Western culture (I'll focus on America) believes in individuality. We believe in having our independence from authority. From politics to religion. Why is that a bad thing?Some people here value their culture outside the states yet they say they have arranged marriages. Others, personal opinion not to reflect all, feel that women shouldn't cover themselves up. They see the individuality of America an aset of free speech. They see this individuality as Martin Luther King Jr. felt the pride of his speech on on-going slavery.
A lot of Americans sho their youth out of the house they reach of age. Other countries they let their children stay with them until they marry. Both values are not bad but the former is seen as negative and the latter, positive. Why?I grown up mostly one parent family. I value one parent even though a lot of people say it is bad and part of Western culture once again putting us down. No. My mother faught for our lives. She is a strong woman (and still is) kicking up her 52 year old feet, clicking with heels, to go to the club every now and then. We were not raised with religion. Oh no! Another bad thing. We're supposed to be Christian. That's what my mother thought and did not drag us to church but told us we had the choice, the freedom to go to church. We did. We left.
That's not a broken family. It's a growing family. Families in all parts of the world are not perfect. Why do we need two parents, to be christian, with a boy and a girl (rather than five or more children) to make up a family? Where is the labor dog and the picket fence then? Western culture shows that some of us divorce a lot (I mean, a lot--my mother has, I think, four last names not including her maiden one). That too is supposed to be bad. A part of western culture. My mother divorced for very very valid reasons. I admit that not everyone divorces because they need to but to define a cultural value or characteristic by the number of divorces (on statistics) is bypassing individual situations that prompt that divorce.
Christianity is supposed to be our countries main religion. I mean, look at our laws. GLBT people had to fight for their right to get married in at least a church. While we can't change any religion's doctrine, we can look at westernalization not from a Christian perspective (because not all Americans are christians) but from the perspective of the individual.
Yes. The individual. Many countries see the individual as a family unit. If you look at individual familes in America you just might see the same thing. Down south, there is a high family ethics. Further West of me, the same thing. Yet, we are all Americans! I admit in the city, it is hard to see that people have family values; and we do. Why do we see America as not have family values? What is the definition of family values to begin with if America is excluded from this group? Everyone is different. There is no duality within differences. Anyway back to Christianity. Westernalization should not be based on religion. A lot of people look at Christianity holding up a nasty finger. (Look at RF) Yet, Christianity is an individual faith not just communal. It is not it's history. Some of us had bad experiences at our former Church others, like myself, had good ones. Some of us changed religions becuase we didnt care for Christian ethics. That doesn't make Christianity (A western value)bad. Just personal preference.
Why define individual Americans' personal connection to whatever religious or value system they have? Why does one need to see Westernalization through Christian eyes when not all Americans are Christians?Westernalization is not a bad word. How we use it makes my skin crawl. A lot of us Amerians do have family values. We pride ourselves in our sense of individuality: It helps us pick our own spiritual path that in other countries doing so would get you arrested or killed. These are not egotistical. It just means we value what we can say and do.. and we use that freedom to, maybe, serve others. We use this for freedom to advocate on our and others behalf. We use this for our work so we can take care of our families. It works.
It's all of these politics and putting down Christianity as the worldview of America that messes everything up.
Anyway.
This is a Journal. Read if if you will. Thank you, if you do.