Monday, July 19, 2010

culture shocks!!!

The first thing that makes me immense myself in thinking is about the cultural diversity and social tolerance in America society. It is a common thing to encounter people with different races, different colors and different customs in street, restaurant, airplane and so forth. Although we can hardly deny that discrimination and bias actually incubate in America, generally speaking, America, as an immigrant country, maintains a relatively high sense of tolerance and respect for different kinds of people, no matter what their races, religions, and sexual orientations are. Consider in depth, may be such social and cultural diversity is the foundation of a democratic society, since almost every people can be guaranteed with certain degree human rights and strive for hope and happiness.
Another thing that surprises me is that most people in OHIO are so friendly and polite. I really appreciate the dinner offered by Jams, and also the help of many strangers, such as book sellers, waiters and so on. However, I also want to say something about a bad experience a couples days ago. When we went walking, some young adults made rude gestures to us and yelled “Chinese ”. At first, I was a little sad about it. But now, I think the reason of their rudeness is that they wanted to be distinguished from other people, considering that they are in adolescence. In fact, gold cannot be pure and world cannot be perfect. And the most important thing is that we have to encounter different people, to explore different culture, and even to suffer some difficulties and disappointments, with a tolerant heart and a deep thought.
The American class style is also an attractive thing for me. I really enjoy such discussion in class, because instead of negative accepting knowledge, we become the positive participants in learning process. From my perspective, the genuine purpose of education is not rooted in stuffing knowledge but stimulating visceral interest, ignite splendid imagination, and excavate inner potential. Only in this way can education better deliver science and humanity.
by Sophy

2 comments:

lucia said...

I do love your way of obeservation, you see the positive side of what you see, from this perspective, you are actually learning.

Mike Lohre said...

I agree, Lucia, and I also really like Sophy's point about social diversity and the need for everyone to have an avenue for hope and happiness. I always say that what it really truly means to be American, in my view, is that you have to be willing to accept someone who you really disagree with, and if that person is being discriminated against, you have to even fight for that person's rights, even if you don't like that individual personally. That is a very tough thing to ask people to do and we all struggle being that tolerant at times, but maybe that is the glue that keeps democracy from falling apart like a cheaply made chair.