CHALLENGING AUTHORITY

In much of the world, authority is not challenged, either out of respect or out of fear, and sometimes because a hierarchy of rank has been fixed for so long that people have been trained for generations never to challenge it.

In such countries children are not expected to question their teachers in school, and brilliant young scholars or inventive geniuses are hampered in technical research because they hesitate to disagree with their “superiors.” Such talented people may be considered too young to have any right to present findings or offer ideas that contradict the knowledge and wisdom of their elders or change the way things are done.

The American is trained from childhood to question, analyze, search. “Go look it up for yourself,” a child will be told. In many schools tasks are designed to encourage the use of a wide range of materials and individual thinking. An assignment to write a paper on the world’s supply of sugar (or the gold standard, or Henry VIII, or Peruvian art) will send even a young child in search of completely unfamiliar information. From the primary grades onward, children are taught to use libraries and to search for new ideas and information. By the time they are teenagers, some young and talented scholars are making original and valuable contributions in all fields of science, from astrophysics to oceanography.

Industry is so aware of this untapped resource that each year, through national competitions, it offers awards to teenagers in order to seek out (and later employ) young people with brilliant, inquiring minds.

As seen by members of some other nations, this emphasis on questioning and searching is inappropriate. Foreigners often feel that our youth lack respect. Foreign visitors are often startled and frequently annoyed to find junior staff members daring to challenge older executives or argue points with them; they do not always like it when these young men or women make often revolutionary suggestions. An executive’s own blueprints, reports, or analyses may be scrutinized in detail – perhaps even challenged – by a young person. This is not to be considered an insult or loss of face, nor is it an indication of “no confidence” in the executive’s experience and ability. Our whole approach to research is different. We de-emphasize the personal. A person’s ideas are being analyzed, not the person. To us the two are quite separate. This is the way our minds work; we are seeking facts, not challenging someone as a person. Thus, even in social conversations you will find that people often argue, pick an idea apart, ask for sources, or challenge conclusions. In general, they do not mean to be rude; they are keenly interested and merely trying to explore the idea in greater depth. Of course, it is true that some people do become rude and do not handle their knowledge and skills in appropriate ways. Egotistical and arrogant behavior is often repaid with alienation and contempt by colleagues in the same office. Thus, bright young men and women learn to use their knowledge and skills in cooperative, beneficial ways.

Source:

Ranier, Alison B. Living in the U.S.A. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1996, pp. 19-20.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Text 5

The Values Americans Live By: A Reading

By L. Robert Kohls

Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, values which Americans live by. They have never given the matter any thought.

Even if Americans had considered this question, they would probably, in the end, decide not to answer in terms of a definitive list of values. The reason for this decision is itself one very American value – their belief that every individual is so unique that the same list of values could never be applied to all, or even most, of their fellow citizens.

Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church, or schools. In the end, each believes, “I personally choose which values I want to live my own life by.”

Despite this self-evaluation, a foreign anthropologist could observe Americans and produce a list of common values which would fit most Americans. The list of typically American values would stand in sharp contrast to the values commonly held by the people of many other countries.

We, the staff of Washington International Center, have been introducing thousands of international visitors to life in the United States for more than a third of a century. This has caused us to try to look at Americans through the eyes of our visitors. We feel confident that the values listed in this booklet describe most (but not all) Americans.

Furthermore, we can say that if the foreign visitor really understood how deeply ingrained these 13 values are in Americans, he or she would then be able to understand 95% of Americans’ actions – actions which might otherwise appear strange, confusing, or unbelievable when evaluated from the perspective of the foreigner’s own society and its values.

The different behaviors of a people or culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter an action, or hear a statement in the United States which surprises you, try to see it as an expression of one or more of the values listed in this booklet. For example, when you ask Americans for directions to get to a particular address in their own city, they may explain, in great detail, how you can get there on your own but may never even consider walking two city blocks with you to lead you to the place. Some foreign visitors have interpreted this sort of action as showing Americans’ “unfriendliness.” We would suggest, instead, that the self-help concept (Value 6 on our list), is so strong in Americans that they firmly believe that no adult would ever want, even temporarily, to be dependent on another. Also, their future orientation (Value 8) makes Americans think it is better to prepare you to find other addresses on your own in the future.

Before proceeding to the list itself, we should also point out that Americans see all of these values as very positive ones. They are not aware, for example, that the people of many Third World countries view change (Value 2) as negative or threatening. In fact, all 13 of these American values are judged by many of the world’s citizens as negative and undesirable. Therefore, it is not enough simply to familiarize yourself with these values. You must also, so far as possible, consider them without the negative or derogatory connotation which they might have for you, based on your own experience and cultural identity.

It is important to state emphatically that our purpose in providing you with this list of the most important American values is not to convert you, the foreign visitor, to our values. We couldn’t achieve that goal even if we wanted to, and we don’t want to. We simply want to help you understand the Americans with whom you will be relating – from their own value system rather than from yours.

L. Robert Kohls, Executive Director

The Washington International Center

Washington, D. C.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 980