Cultural "Tails"

"STORIES" (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by the waving cat

It is often said that we should learn from our mistakes. It stands to reason then, that we should also learn from our successes. When we tell our stories of failure and success, we are creating vessels for these teachings that benefit all who have an ear for them. This is what makes stories so powerful and important. If we could just get better at telling and listening to stories, infinite possibilities emerge. Our stories are the basis of all the good, and bad that have befallen humankind since the beginning of time. We need to connect with the long lens of our personal history in a more meaningful and purposeful way. We have to give serious consideration to how we contextualize our past, present and future.

Sadly, amid the pace of life and the effort to "get ahead," we have lost our connection with our cultural "tails." A curious irony exists (one which I have written about in the book, "Innovative Voices in Education-Engaging Diverse Learners") in that communication and transportation technology have exposed us to each other more efficiently than ever, yet we simultaneously become more distant as the anxiety of being confronted with our differences appear to challenge our autonomy and sense of self in the world.

We are multicultural in Canada, an often considered positive element of our society; one we brag about, but to me, the term multiculturalism has become a term without a purpose. Multiculturalism is obvious and inherent in our world from a global perspective; it has always been this way. Different people have always coexisted on this planet of ours. Simply acknowledging that many different people live on Earth isn't good enough anymore. To address and begin to confront the anxieties surrounding our differences, we need to move toward "interculturalism." 

Our race, religion, gender, sexual preference, style, emotion, cognition; all of these and more make up our personal "culture," and we typically wear that on our sleeves. These elements define us as part of a group and as individuals at the same time. Whether we agree with the cultural perspectives of others is irrelevant as it applies to the importance of simply being aware of them and learning about them, seeking understanding as opposed to just acceptance or tolerance. We need to understand each other. Learning people's stories is the time-honoured and absolute best way to do this. 

The outward expression of culture is easy to perceive. The colour of our skin, what we wear, how we speak, etc define us at first glance, but we also represent our less obvious internal cultural perspective. The thoughts, feelings and experiences we've had that form our intrinsic cultural perspective are known only to us. It forms as a result of those thoughts, feelings and experiences, and may not even necessarily conform to the extrinsic cultural expression that we shield ourselves with. It's our deeply personal view toward ourselves, others, our surroundings and even the cultural context we were born into; one in which we may not even completely accept. 

The story of our personal, internal cultural perspective is like a tail that floats and sways behind us. It represents all that we've been through, good and bad, shaping our private logic, as Alfred Adler would say. It influences how we define ourselves, other people and the world, and we draw conclusions that may or not be true depending on how our experiences have impacted us. That cultural "tail" becomes our deeply personal story, or "tale," and if we've been jaded by that it becomes difficult to reconcile our own story let alone the stories of others. The most intimate relationship each of us will ever have is with ourselves. If we struggle to accept who we are, it's nearly impossible to accept who others are.

We're experiencing an abrupt shift in the world on many fronts. Change is happening at a feverish pace, and the Regression Effect is in full deployment for millions of people around the world who don't want to change or accept change. We cannot sustain this. 

The more we're confronted by change and new things, the more likely we are to become defensive of our own cultural "tail." We tell ourselves the stories that we believe we understand, and this tendency insulates us from the ones we don't understand. We begin to resent and fear that which we do not accept or understand leading us to become exceedingly defensive about who we identify as. I believe this is the explanation for the brimming degrees of hate, bigotry, misogyny, racism and xenophobia present among us in the world today.

We need an antidote. 

Enter Occam's Razor.

To successfully pass through a necessary evolutionary step forward, human beings need to be willing to learn about other, different human beings. I believe the answer is that simple. We can't survive just being multicultural any longer, we must become intercultural. We must make a concerted, sincere effort to get to know people that are different from us. We first need to hear their cultural tales understanding that we may not accept or agree with the private logic they represent. Secondly, we need to understand that it's possible to live peacefully alongside each other without necessarily accepting or agreeing with each other. 

It's much easier to do that when we aren't forced into a defensive retreat or combative attack as a result of fear and anxiety. We're making too many mistakes, and we're not learning from them. History is repeating itself in the most inhumane ways. We need to shift our approach and experience success through efforts to become familiar with others. Small, brave steps to get to know the stories of others who are different might just be the way to succesfully save ourselves.