Clash of Civilizations - Case Study Example

 Introduction In this world of globalization, where people are drawn together in a much closer manner, it is inevitable that clashes between different cultures would be a common factor that society has to deal with. A culture clash occurs when two or more cultures are not in agreement with each other, either about their way of life or their beliefs. In such a situation of culture clashes, there would be a lot of misunderstanding, debates and fights due to their disagreements. We are not born with our culture, but on the other hand, culture is taught and learned during our lives, through family and those close to us. The clash happens when we try to unlearn what we were taught, or when we try to explore new cultures. Immigration of people from different cultures into a country they do not belong to, serves as a bone of contention for people who belong there. The difference between various cultures is what we understand by culture clash. Every individual loves and respects the cultural background from which they come, but when they cross national boundaries and find that their culture is not much favored or accepted, is when culture clashes take place. For this research paper, I have chosen to discuss one of the culture clashes, involving dog lovers and dog eaters. My study would also include the opinions of both the clashing sides and solutions to try and overcome such clashes. Culture Clash - 2 My research paper is on two sides of the same coin. On one hand there are dog eaters and on the other hand there are dog lovers. Both these groups do not see eye to eye because they are in disagreement with each other and hence the clash. The same cultural clash happened in South Korea, over the eating of dog meat and described it as a ‘clash of civilizations’. (French, The New York Times, 2001) For this research, I have taken an incident from Beijing, China that occurred in 2011. (William Wan, 2011) It was a small twist of fate that had led to a major clash and brought about a major change in perspective by the Chinese people. A truck traveled down the Beijing highway carrying 520 dogs that were crammed in a van, and destined for the eating table. (William Wan, Washington Post) These would have eventually been supplied to restaurants in northeastern China. Fortunately, for the dogs, fate had intervened in the guise of another driver, who happened to be an avid animal lover who stopped the truck and forced it off the road. Crowds of people gathered as the hot news reached the Chinese blogosphere. Traffic came to a grinding halt as animal activists began flocking the area and lending help wherever possible. The police swarmed the place trying to keep control of things which was slowly spiraling out of proportion. New groups of animal activists arrived on the scene bringing dog food, water and other reinforcements. Some of them even brought in trained veterinarians to look after the pets, during a siege that lasted about 15 hours. Most of the dogs in the truck were strays and it was very difficult for animal activists to handle the Culture Clash - 3 huge number. Moreover, many of the dogs were malnourished, dehydrated and even sick. A few of the animals died in the incident and some were being treated in hospitals in Beijing. However, housing the rescued dogs posed a mighty task for the animal activists. The standoff ignited widespread discussions and debates on the internet as to which side was right or wrong. E. mailing groups, blogs and web- polls spread the word like wild fire and animal lovers and activists joined the fray on dog eating. In China, the question of dog eating had been brewing for quite a number of years but no particular stance was taken on this issue. The chief premise of these arguments, debates and discussions took place between the urbanites and the rural people, and the rich and the poor. However, this seemed to be two sides of the same coin because it centered on one thing which was about eating dog meat. For centuries, dog meat was considered a delicacy in China and was served in most of the restaurants and hotels. According to dog meat eaters, dog meat had a fragrant and unique flavor and it was especially popular during the winter season as it was believed to keep a person warm. On one hand, the dog eaters argued that this practice had been carrying on for centuries and there was nothing wrong because even other animals like the cow, goat and pig are eaten. According to them, since other animals were eaten by people then why such a hue and cry is being made about dog eating. On the other hand, dog lovers argue that dogs are kept at home as pets and should not be exposed to such treatment. Culture Clash - 4 In the tussle between both the sides, the highway incident became a major success and the arguments and discussions turned in favor of the dog lovers. This was made possible because all the dog lovers pooled in approximately $ 17,000 and paid off the driver of the truck in return for the freedom of all the dogs. However, they soon realized that they had a real task on hand to find homes for these dogs so that they could be looked after well. China has drastically changed since this incident and this has been reflected in their culture. In recent years, pet ownership has skyrocketed as more and more Chinese people have become dog lovers instead of dog eaters. China is now experiencing a booming market in pet care and pet products. Most of the dog lovers are from the middle class because not only do they have the money for it but also the time to take care of their furry friends. However, some hold the opinion that owning a dog was a capitalist activity, because only the rich could afford to have them. On the other hand, some of the people were enraged at the animal activists for trying to rescue the dogs while ignoring the plight of impoverished Chinese people who earned their money by this means. Fortunately, now the times have changed for the better as more and more middle class people are buying and breeding dogs in their homes. Kwame Anthony Appiah, in his work on ‘Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers’, (p. 307) highlights the different aspects of culture clashes and tries to find solutions to some of these problems. Appiah explains that our world is shrinking smaller Culture Clash - 5 due to migration, tourism, and international trade and therefore people have much more access to each other than ever before. He also says that mass media, with particular mention of the internet, is also a major contributing factor for bringing people closer together. In lieu of this closeness people have more opportunities to affect the lives of other people. Some of these circumstances may be good and some may not, due to the culture clash. Appiah (p.308) in his book on ‘Cosmopolitanism’ attempts to question the institutions and ideas that could help us to live in harmony as a new global tribe. According to Appiah, ‘Cosmopolitanism’ is a two pronged strand where we have obligations to people who are not closely related to us. Defining cosmopolitanism Appiah states that ‘A cosmopolitan is a citizen of the world and it suggests belonging to the human community, believing in the oneness of humanity and universal concern.’ (p.308) Being cosmopolitan also involves being interested in the lives, beliefs and practices of others. Zweifel, Thomas (2006) offers us a few solutions to minimize culture clashes. Some of these solutions include doing what the hosts do, respecting people’s thoughts, ideas and behavior, interacting with people keeping their language and culture in mind and listening and understanding the viewpoint of others and being open- minded about them. Culture Clash - 6 According to Appiah, cosmopolitanism starts with ’conversation across boundaries’ (p.309) and feels that there is a lot to learn from the differences we have with other people. In order to do this, first and foremost, we should make a sincere attempt to understand those people who are part of our planet. He disregards and criticizes those who follow ‘partial cosmopolitanism’ because they are in constant denial of the importance of national boundaries and nation states and they also deal with icy impartiality to their fellow citizens. This particular point can be clearly seen in the incident of dog lovers and dog eaters discussed above. The disparity faced by the truck driver was not understood and vice versa, the car driver’s love for animals was not understood by the truck driver and hence a cultural clash occurred. Appiah feels that if each one understood the other better, then there would be less room for clashes to take place. In this context, Zweifel in his book titled ‘Culture Clash, Managing the Global High Performance’( pg. 12) holds the opinion that communication, transport have accelerated to such an extent that it has forced us to alter the way we think and react to people and situations. Therefore in trying to avoid culture clashes Zweifel, tells us that we need to understand the underlying rhythm with which others nations move and also learn about national differences, their tastes, language, practices and media used by people from a different culture. (p. 14) Martin Heideggar, a German Philosopher rightly points out that ‘language is not just about communication, but it reflects cultural essence.’ (Zweifel, p. 25) Culture Clash - 7 Appiah believes that local loyalties are as important as allegiances because it is this that sums up who we are. He encourages people to adapt both these loyalties so that it would help us not to come in conflict with each other. He also stresses the need for adapting a live and let live attitude because when we look out at the world we come to understand that there are different ways of life and thinking and if we don’t understand these differences there is bound to be disagreements and clashes. On the other hand, if we embrace pluralism and accept the differences of others, then life need not end in conflict. One of the important points Appiah speaks about is conversation across boundaries. Through conversing one could learn the differences between people and try to understand them and their way of life in a much better manner. Lack of understanding and a negative attitude will only result in culture clashes. Emphasizing this fact Appiah states that our ideas and values are shaped when we converse with other people and thereby understand their feelings and point of view in any given situation. Moral disagreement is another important point spoken of by Appiah as he tells us that if we disagree on something then we are in conflicts with our own values. However, values will always be a bone of contention between cultures because what may be a value for one may not necessarily be a value for the other. Therefore, it would make it much more easy if we shared the same moral vocabulary with each other and hence lessen conflict. Considering the incident of dog lovers and eaters, it was clear that they did not share the same moral values and hence the clash took place. Appiah explains that though Culture Clash - 8 moral disagreements can occur, yet cross- cultural dialogue about values need not end in disagreement or conflict but on agreement on what has to be done can end on a peaceful note even though we may not agree to the underlying reasons. By conversation across boundaries, Appiah means the engaging of thoughts and ideas of others while experiencing them. Appiah further highlights the fact that human beings have a lot in common among themselves. For example everyday activities such as reading, writing, eating, going to movies, parties etc. purchasing things, going out with friends and the like. In addition there are some universal values such as generosity, compassion and kindness that humans tend to exhibit, irrespective of what cultural background they come from. In fact, he says that these pathways could lead to cross – cultural conversations, where we can open up to different ways of thinking and reacting to other people and situations. Globalization is a threat to homogeneity believes Appiah because he feels that people should choose for themselves the right idea of globalization instead of forcing themselves to blindly go along with what others say about it. He points out to some of the museums around the world stating that some of its important artifacts were looted from those countries that were poor and still developing. He explains that instead of arguing as to its rightful owner, they should belong to all of humanity so that they could learn about each others cultural backgrounds. In his chapter on Counter – Cosmopolitanism Appiah (310) strongly feels that people who are religious fundamentalists should exercise more Culture Clash - 9 tolerance towards other world religions and imbibe values of universalism. In doing so, we may learn many things from people we disagree with. In his final chapter on ‘Kindness to Strangers’ Appiah (311) explains that obligation towards strangers is only one aspect of cosmopolitanism because it makes no demands that one has to be more sympathetic or concerned for strangers than to people who are close to us. According to him, being forcefully obligated is to lose out on the quality of our lives and therefore obligations should not be burdensome at all. Appiah’s research has given us deep insight into the values we hold as human beings. Though we do understand that in a mixed group of people, it is inevitable that disagreements and conflicts would make its presence felt, yet it is left up to us to imbibe a universal set of values and ways of thinking in order to overcome these conflicts and live in peace. In this globalized world, therefore, we should adapt ourselves or make ourselves familiar with the cultures of other people and thereby increase our understanding about the ideas and thoughts and feelings of others. It is a known fact that we cannot all at once be rid of disagreement and conflict, but through tolerance and understanding we can at least achieve to be better human beings and minimize conflict in our societies. World governing bodies such as United Nations and World Bank do exist but they should be more democratic in their outlook if they want to protect the rights of people and thereby minimize conflict around the world. Culture Clash - 10 Works Cited “Chinese Dog Eaters and Dog Lovers spar over Animal Rights”, The Washington Post. Web. 2011 French, W. Howard, Seoul Journal; A Cultural Clash Forces Korea to Beware of Dog. (2001) www.nytimes.com/.../seoul-journal-a-cultural-clash-forces Appiah, Kwame Anthony, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers. New York: W. W. Norton, (2006). 196 pp. Zweifel, Thomas, Culture Clash Managing, The Global High Performance, Dreamtech Press, (2006) pgs. 116 William Wan, Chinese Dog Eaters Clash with Activists – China Fox Nation http://nation.foxnews.com/china/2011/05/31/chinese-dog-eaters-clash-activists Read More