Cultural Values
Each time I hear some politician talked about 'our cultural values', I cringe. It seems with globalization, politicians all over the world are playing with the xenophobia in the society. In the West it's against Islam, in Indonesia it's against Western. I'm tired of it. The so-called 'our culture' in Indonesia is a mixed of different cultures, which also come with different values. The notion of our cultural values are better than those of the West, is rubbish. Just as with every things, there are positive and negative. Not every single things Indonesian is good, just as not every single things Western is good.
How about learn the good thing from each other,and leave (what you think as) the bad behind.
6 comments:
"The notion of our cultural values are better ... is rubbish"
Hear! Hear!
(But actually I don't know what to do to prevent anxious people running for cover to the familiar surroundings and familiar ways and convictions of their pasts, which factually never existed.)
Well, we have this saying over here: tak kenal maka tak sayang. You wont love what you dont know.
That's why I love the idea of that library in NL where people can 'borrow' to chat with minority (jew/moslem/gay/etc). If we cant change something head-on, we start slow from our own circle. I told people that in the West is not like what they imagined with the free sex and what not. Just as I told people in the West that Islam is not like what media's been picturing.
@ triesti: That's about what I ( ceteris paribus) have been and am trying to do - with, alas, alas, only moderate and even diminishing success. Moderation and relativism seem not to be very fashionable these days.
@ triesti: And another lesson I learned: never ever boast with Latin quotations. You may blunder the way I did: thinking 'mutatis mutandis' but writing 'ceteris paribus' :%) .
it showed that you had a strong background in economics :) I learnt mutatis mutandis in legal class, not in economics.
Well, I know 'instant' is practically the norm, but if some chefs could bring back slow cooking, we can bring slow change.. at least we started somewhere. or am I too naive?
@ triesti: No, you are definitely right. We badly need some naivety to spur the energy we need to counter petty provincialism.
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