Accepting other cultures - learning about other cultures

[DarkTimes]

It is very important for all of us to do this to reach global peace, and to end racism once and for all.

I suggest you try to learn other cultures, especially of those others who live around you that may seem different to get to know them better. Trying out their food is a great way to start. Any other ideas?

[rcf5005]

I wholeheartedly agree. The problem with some people is they think that learning about somebody else's culture is the same as abandoning your own. It's not. Not even close actually. There is pride in your own culture, and there's ignorance.
BTW, food is a good place to start but unfortunately, everything seems to get "Americanized" - pizza, chinese takeout, tacos, sushi, etc. I still get them, I have no shame

[vivek]

In the old world the civilisations existed because they interacted with each other. For example, the blue colours used in the cave paintings of the world famous Ajanta and Ellora caves in India were brought from Persia.
The famous silk route is another example of acceptance of other cultures.
The famous Taj Mahal has Persian architecture all over it whereas when the English ruled India, their culture was imbibed by the Indians.
All the excavations in Harrappa and Mohenjadaro in the Indian subcontinent point that different cultures were excepted which made them flourish.
Kerela, which is the southernmost state of India with a predominant fishing business has been using Chinese fishing nets since ages.
Speaking of China, don't we just love chinese food.

[technica]

First start respecting other cultures. They might have their own thinking and own cultural values. Try to learn them or at least know them, so that you will understand their cultural values more deeply.

Learning other culture is really a good thing. And everyone should learn at least one culture other than their own. And as others said food is a good thing to start with. Other than food fashion is also good to start accepting other culture and understand them properly.

[GaryEarle]

DarkTimes...maybe it's never occured to you...it doesn't matter how many cultures you learn...Racism is big business...it always has been...from all parties involved. Think about it...where would Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton be if racism didn't exist? Nowhere ...thats where.

[elite]

Mutual understanding, tolerance and acceptance of different cultural norms is definitely important to maintain world peace. This mutual understanding is hard to achieve and will take patience and wisdom to acquired over time. There is no point rushing this important learning process to speed things up and a great sense of humor will certainly help.

Smile

[jyo10]

As technica pointed out, respecting other cultures is crucial, for understanding and empathizing with others is a trait that is supposed to differentiate man from other animals on the planet. Man, by his very nature, is a social animal and every other culture around owes a great deal to others. It's not in our interest to be "colored" by baseless prejudices and biases. The sooner we realize this, the better.

[bluesnow]

Yes, I agree that we should try to learn, accept and appreciate other cultures. But I think its quite impossible to put an end to racism once and for all. I myself live in a multicultural society with people of different races living harmoniously together, but inevitable, there are still people who are racist.

Yeah, food is a great way to start. Similarly, I think music is another way to learn about other cultures too.

[crowhit]

I appreciate your ideas.

the best way to accept other cultures is to accept other people of various religions. This way all differences would be finished.

But frankly some people in the world are not ready to even spend some time with other people in public places so firstly they should understand this.

[RioKwik]

I don't think racism will ever go away, it is a type of thinking that people are not born with, but taught. As long as there are people out there who think they are better than others, and there will always be these types, then racism will exist.

I do think it is important to teach tolerance at a young age though. This can be done from a very early age and the more places and situations that children are exposed to where they learn this, the more they see it as the right way to behave.

There is never any excuse for it, and adults need to learn that, because racism can happen to a person of any color, not just minorities. Reaching out to people from other cultures and learning about their way of living, what they value and even trying to understand their religious beliefs are some of the best things a person can do. Who knows, you might discover that there is more than you thought that you had in common with one group.

[Cermet]

I think American's need to travel more -- I think traveling around the world not only gives you an appreciation for other cultures but it makes you have more perspective when it comes to your own culture. If more Americans traveled I think the racism we see against ethnic groups such as Latinos wouldn't be so prevalent.

That said, we do need to deal with the immigration issue in America.

[zowie]

When you say accept some one else's culture, you need to accept all the aspects of their culture. You cannot choose and pick some part of it. There is going to be some things in any community which may be a taboo to some other ones. An example is pork. It is a strict no no for Muslims and Jews. The same case about cows for Hindus.

[Aleiah]

Right, accepting other people's culture is the first big step to world peace. But we need to be really open-minded enough to accept other cultures. Its not easy to say "I do accept your culture," it entails a whole lot of understanding aside from the food, there is also the customs - the way of living, habits and all that. Sometimes we deem offensive and abusive the customs and traditions of other people, that's why this really needs a lot of work and understanding.

[oxis]

Learning to reach to others and trying to learn more of their culture would be in vain if one doesn't know how to love his own. Therefore, one must start to learn basically the culture he's taught with at first, the behavior of the environment he's moving around with, and the civic he is oriented with. And additionally one must learn to adjust with the nature and keeping in mind that waiting for the nature to adjust with oneself is VERY impossible.

[ZammaJann]

I agree that the only way anyone will learn to accept a culture is to understand that culture. Learning about the food, art, religion, music, and history of the culture is a good start. To me the best way is to simply ask "WHY?" and be genuinely interested in the response. People are usually eager to talk about their cultures if they feel that the other person is genuinely interested and non judgmental. If you approach it this way and understand WHY, then you will be much more accepting of even the aspects of other cultures you may have previously found repugnant.

[Kofi]

culture is a tradition and tradition goes on and on. It is good to learn from other people so we can increase in knowledge. Don't learn from me because you like me but learn from me so that you can increase in knowledge. Africa might be poor economically but culturally, there is no other continent like Africa. We cherish our culture and traditions more than any other thing because culture and traditions are part of life and they have become part of us like the blood through our veins. We cannot live without our culture and traditions because they were handed down to us by our great great grandfathers. Some may be considered barbaric today but our great great grandfathers had no problem with those. Sometimes people judge our culture and traditions as been barbaric yet these same people do not want to understand why we do those things. Learn the African culture and you will know more about this life not forgetting that all life began in Africa.