Esteban Diaz wrote:
>Maybe a better word is American Myopia. It seems that
>americans find it very hard to see, deal with and accept those who are
>different, poor, linguistically different...etc.
>
yes, there is a kind of american myopia - also, this myopia seems to
be part of a larger human condition - that a kind of myopia seems perhaps
to be an effect of any activity practice that is also an attempt to create
a particular sense of community - i'm thinking of the travails that the
Sami, for example, have struggled with as the northern nations of Norway,
Sweden & Finland/Tzarist Russia attempted to christianize and westernize
them. the Maori of New Zealand. the inuit of Canada & Alaska & Denmark's
Greenland.
however, i wonder if the reason Americans are held up as examples of
failure is because of the............ what ?...
i really can't say - i've not such a non-american perspective, even
when i travel and notice the language of contempt for Gitane in Spain, or
or or - i know i'm still viewing the world through my american
sensibilities.
i just have observed that we humans throughout this world have
difficulties accepting culturally constructed differences. for surely
differences that make a difference are cultural constructions.
phillip
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 23 2000 - 09:20:33 PDT