In a world full of knowledge ignorance still exists. We cannot know and experience all things but I think the best way to minimize ignorance is remain a student. If we are open to new information and to having new experiences we can better educate ourselves throughout the length of our lives and thusly, decrease our ignorance. This education is of paramount importance if we seek to become a leader in a global context or if we anticipate working on a team.
Ethnocentricity is an “exaggerated tendency to think the characteristics of one’s own group or race is superior to those of other groups or races” (Drever, 1952, p.86). This kind of thinking is rooted in ignorance. Other cultures and groups have so much to offer and we have a choice here, we can choose to be open minded or we can choose to remain close minded toward the groups that are different than ours.
Ignorance can be stubborn. I remember hearing a coworker talk about neighbors of hers that were from India. She was from the deep south and in an extremely judgmental tone she talked about the way their food smelled. I asked her if she had ever tried Indian food and her response was that she would never eat that stuff. Her tone indicated a belief that her culture was superior to theirs and without even knowing it she was expressing unconscious ethnocentric values. (Pennsylvania State University, 2017) She refused to try it so she remained ignorant of the Indian culture and everything that it had to offer.
I would never want to admit that I’ve been biased or that I have allowed myself to generalize about other cultures but I have, most of us have. It’s the unconsciousness of it that bothers me because I don’t want to be biased but there are times that I just am. Our text says that one of the best ways to fight ethnocentrism is to travel, experience new things. (Pennsylvania State University, 2017) Each time I do this I broaden my understanding and appreciation of other cultures without even realizing it. Perhaps travel is indeed the antidote to ethnocentric behaviors. (Pennsylvania State University, 2017)
Ultimately the coworker that I mentioned was a very nice person but her behavior here was fueled by her ignorance of the Indian culture. This is why I am a proponent of people doing something as simple as trying new foods from other cultures or having a chat with someone who grew up in another country than you did. Ask someone you work with where they find good food and go with them to lunch one day. I don’t want to be ignorant of something that is different than me, I want to understand it. And every time I seek to understand it I find myself walking away seeing with a deeper understanding and appreciation for something I didn’t even realize existed.
Works Cited:
Drever, H. E. (1952).A dictionary of psychology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.
Pennsylvania State University (2017). Lesson 01: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context [ ]. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654085
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