How Indians and Anglo-Europeans differ in their concepts of time; age; nature; savings and cooperation - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... The American-Indians respect and revere age, seeing it as a stage in life when a person acquires great wisdom and, in dreams, communicates with the Great Spirit. These very different conceptions of time and age are carried over to strikingly different views on nature. As the environmental problems we are currently facing confirm, Anglo-Americans believe that they own nature and, accordingly exploit and use it. In direct comparison, Indians cooperate with nature and seek to protect and preserve it just as they believe that nature does with them. The Anglo-American tendency to exploit nature reveals a materialistic attitude which influences their obsession with savings, with building and creating portfolios and retirement funds.
As the Indians believe that they have all they need for survival in nature itself, they have no use for savings. It could be that their different attitudes towards savings are influenced by their conceptions of cooperation, just as much as they are by their understanding of nature. Quite simply stated, the cooperative spirit which prevails within Indian tribes and which establishes each person within as responsible for the tribe and its members gives the Indians a sense of unity and security.
They know that, among the tribe, they will be taken care of. Americans, especially today, lack this notion of cooperation and each person is largely regarded as responsible for him or herself. Accordingly, their security comes from their savings. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More