If there is one thing that I have learnt by living in different countries and meeting different people, it is the fact that people love themselves and their own country and culture first and foremost. It is well and fine as long as it does not carry the connotation of feeling superior as Dale Carnegie says "Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism - and wars". Of course we Bhutanese are no exception. We are very proud of our country, our culture and king. Therefore, sometimes, how the others view us may even shock us.
I had the opportunity to travel and live in some counrties like Australia and Japan. In general, Japanese have much better understanding and appreciation of our country. When I was in Australia, I was often asked, "Bhutan, I think I have heard of it. Where is it?" Then their next question would almost always be, "what do you produce and export?" The image formed of us was invariably an impoverished country. Maybe we cannot blame them though because we may not be any the better if we were in their shoes. And there is no problem as long as they do not utter derogatory remarks.
Even the people from countries plagued by perennial problems of poverty, corruption, terrorism and famine would never accept that another country is better than theirs. They may be vying to go to America, but that is only to make money. They may accept that they have certain problems to deal with, but ultimately, deep in their hearts, they will always believe they are great people of a great land with a great culture. This understanding is invaluable in an international environment.
Lack of proper understanding of others give rise to prejudices and stereotyping. For instance, in the past, some Bhutanese parents used to advice their kids thus: "You may marry anybody. But don't marry an Indian or Tibetan". This advice has the connotation of a feeling of superiority over our closest neighbors, India and Tibet. Such attitudes exist in any society as it is a part of human nature. A friend from Inner Mongolia told me that even now, they would consider it too low for them to marry a Han Chinese girl. The feeling of superiority between countries is an extension of such communal feelings.
This goes on to explain why there exists discrimination based on ethnicity. The other day, I read in Japan Times that a black man residing in Kyoto sued a Japanese shopkeeper for racial discrimination, but unfortunately lost. The shopkeeper had reportedly shouted at the black man in Japanese, "Get out of my shop. I hate black man." The court dismissed his case because the judge believed the black man knew too little Japanese to understand what the shopkeeper might have said.
Such attitudes are bred by ignorance and narrow-mindedness. However, it is indeed good that people of different linguistic groups live together peacefully in Bhutan. This should be further encouraged and cherished.
The gist of my post is that when everyone understands that all people love themselves and their own country and culture first and everyone approaches the other people with this understanding and respect, there would be much less misunderstanding and disharmony. It is easy to understand, but probably a little bit too hard to apply. Because people tend to think one's own is the best, and they dont stop there; they also think what belongs to others is no good.
I had the opportunity to travel and live in some counrties like Australia and Japan. In general, Japanese have much better understanding and appreciation of our country. When I was in Australia, I was often asked, "Bhutan, I think I have heard of it. Where is it?" Then their next question would almost always be, "what do you produce and export?" The image formed of us was invariably an impoverished country. Maybe we cannot blame them though because we may not be any the better if we were in their shoes. And there is no problem as long as they do not utter derogatory remarks.
Even the people from countries plagued by perennial problems of poverty, corruption, terrorism and famine would never accept that another country is better than theirs. They may be vying to go to America, but that is only to make money. They may accept that they have certain problems to deal with, but ultimately, deep in their hearts, they will always believe they are great people of a great land with a great culture. This understanding is invaluable in an international environment.
Lack of proper understanding of others give rise to prejudices and stereotyping. For instance, in the past, some Bhutanese parents used to advice their kids thus: "You may marry anybody. But don't marry an Indian or Tibetan". This advice has the connotation of a feeling of superiority over our closest neighbors, India and Tibet. Such attitudes exist in any society as it is a part of human nature. A friend from Inner Mongolia told me that even now, they would consider it too low for them to marry a Han Chinese girl. The feeling of superiority between countries is an extension of such communal feelings.
This goes on to explain why there exists discrimination based on ethnicity. The other day, I read in Japan Times that a black man residing in Kyoto sued a Japanese shopkeeper for racial discrimination, but unfortunately lost. The shopkeeper had reportedly shouted at the black man in Japanese, "Get out of my shop. I hate black man." The court dismissed his case because the judge believed the black man knew too little Japanese to understand what the shopkeeper might have said.
Such attitudes are bred by ignorance and narrow-mindedness. However, it is indeed good that people of different linguistic groups live together peacefully in Bhutan. This should be further encouraged and cherished.
The gist of my post is that when everyone understands that all people love themselves and their own country and culture first and everyone approaches the other people with this understanding and respect, there would be much less misunderstanding and disharmony. It is easy to understand, but probably a little bit too hard to apply. Because people tend to think one's own is the best, and they dont stop there; they also think what belongs to others is no good.
1 comment:
Here are some links that I believe will be interested
Post a Comment