Thomas wrote:
> Where in the 19th century, many from England, America and other places
> went to Africa, China, South America, etc. in an attempt to "save those
> savages" from themselves-and now have the unfortunate reputation as
> medlers and foreign devils-We still need to face the fact that there are a
> lot of really unsavery practices in ALL cultures (even ours), and some
> form of change activity needs to be there, but it has to come from the
> inside-not by us who attempt to impose our values on "them".
Amen! This is what I finally concluded about the people I wanted to help
live a more productive and successful life -- they didn't want my help,
and they didn't perceive a need to change. I was trying ti force my value
system on others, to "save them from themselves."
Learning to be tolerant of other's values is important if we plan to
effect any significant change. . .especially in culture-centered values.
Our effectiveness in helping others (individuals, organizations,
societies, cultures, etc.) create constructive change emerges when we not
only tolerate but also understand their values. This allows us to operate
at their level, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the assumptions
upon which many of their values are based. This is a form of working from
the inside-out, if we are successful in reaching the "inside."
> We can supply tools, coaching, encouragement and alternative points of
> view, so as much as possible help other cultures see things that they take
> as being normal as we might see them (yech!), but we also have to be open
> to seeing our own "yech", because it is most definitely there.
A good friend of mine says, "everyone has their own flat earths, and their
own reversed solar systems." Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he
said, "take the mote out of thine own eye, before you take the beam out of
anothers" (or something to that effect).
> I'm concerned that we stand on our lofty and politically correct pedistals
> (what ever form those pedistals might take) and look down on "those poor,
> dumb savages" and commit the same blunders our forbearers did when
> they "went missionarying".
Agreed! As Senge points out in the beginning of The Fifth Discipline
Fieldbook, the Zulu tribe in Africa has a wonderful way of interacting
with one another, which emphasizes the community nature of self. Who says
our western attitude toward the individual, and individual rights are
necessarily true (implying that our values are somehow self-evident!)?
Political intervention usually leaves a big mess.
--Benjamin B. Compton ("Ben") | email: bcompton@novell.com Novell GroupWare Technical Engineer | fax: (801) 222-6991
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>