Importance of Cultural Belief Systems

I have written about the importance of our Cultural Belief Systems in shaping who we become, and have encouraged investigating one's own, as they are part of everyone's basic Programming.

In this blog I want to approach their importance from a different direction. Many years ago, when attempting to learn French, I decided that learning another language than one's own native language, can bring about insights not only about one's own language, but language in general. In a similar way, one can gain a new perspective on one's own culture, not only by travel, but by reading information regarding other cultures.

The Western World has recently experienced a shocking challenge to its Belief System by a recent book: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, written by Amy Chua. Many have been made aware of the book, if only because of the outrage it has caused in the Western World's modern mothers who have read it. (I, personally, have not read it, but learned about it's contents in this way.)

In the book, Ms. Chua has revealed how she, raised her daughters to excel, and about how, at least some, other mothers of Chinese descent raise their children. The book is very revealing, in at least one respect, in that it brings to light why children of Oriental parentage excel in the Western educational system.

I recently read a magazine article, (New York Magazine 5/16/11) which, it seems, was stimulated, in part, by the eruption brought about by Ms. Chua's book, it was titled, "Asian Like Me," by Wesley Yang.

A digression: The title of the article may have, itself, been derived from the book, Black Like Me. "Black Like Me is a non-fiction book by journalist John Howard Griffin first published in 1961. Griffin was a white native of Mansfield, Texas and the book describes his six-week experience traveling on Greyhound buses (occasionally hitchhiking) throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia passing as a black man." Wikipedia. Mr. Griffin used some substance to change his skin color.) I read this book in the '60's, and was very moved, and probably changed, by it.

In part, the New York Magazine article, was about what has become called the, "Bamboo Ceiling." (The term being a take-off of what women experience as the invisible Glass Ceiling they hit, and which prevents them from rising into higher levels of Management in the business world.)

The article begins by exploring this "ceiling," initially investigating the figures which indicate that, while Oriental students are well-known to excel academically, why it is they do not go on to be recognized and represented in the various professional fields out in the, "real world."

Rather than just labeling this as, "discrimination" and stewing in the negativity that results, a number of individuals from this group have chosen, instead, to ask themselves questions such as, "What is it about us that we aren't able to break through this ceiling"? Also, "How do Oriental men, in general, differ from those Western men who rise to the top in their professions"? And, "What is it about Orientals, that cause Westerners to not seem to feel comfortable around them"?

Asking these questions has led to many breakthroughs in, not only learning about their Cultures, and Belief Systems, but gaining a greater understanding of how the Western Society, and hierarchies really work. Also, learning about the major differences in the non-verbal communications and body-language used by members of each of the groups.

One small example had to do with aphorisms, which are brief sayings, generally encapsulating a bit of folk wisdom. For example, in China one saying is, "The duck that quacks the loudest gets shot"; in Japan, a similar saying is, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered", while in the West the equivalent to those is, "It's the squeaky wheel that gets greased." If you just think about these three, and imagine that they have been repeated many times as you were growing up, becoming a part of your Belief System, you can gain an understanding of what a world of difference they would make in your social behavior if they were part of your Belief System.

Another revelation, in this article, was that people born in Eastern Cultures, from the earliest age, are conditioned/Programmed to not smile, by the fact that, 1) they are not encouraged to smile, or laugh, and, 2) no one around them smiles, or laughs! In contrast, in our American Western sub-Cultures and Societies, from an early age, adults, not only do their best to get their babies to smile and laugh, but have sayings, such as, "Laughter is the best medicine."

It is, of course, sadly, not true that people assume that others, if they are people, are like us. Cultures Program their members to fear those of other groups who are different; the more different, the more fear. However, we have another aphorism that: "Everyone smiles in the same language."

While this may be essentially a true aphorism, encouraging people coming together, built within it is the Belief that all humans smile. How jolting is it then, to be presented with the fact that members of some cultures, representing the majority of the world's population, just do not smile, and actually, cannot smile without being trained, and have practiced, smiling deliberately.

This aspect of the Eastern Belief Systems has to be taken into account, if one knows anyone raised in the Oriental Belief System, or hopes to be able to begin to communicate with its members. (Another major difference is the concept of, "loosing face," the importance of which, we of the West do not even begin to comprehend!)

An interesting aspect of the writer of the article, "Asian Like Me," is that he grew up a product of both the East and the West, and who thought he had rejected both systems. Writing the article was, for him, obviously, a major growing experience.

As written about previously, but to emphasize, in addition to our basic, underlying Beliefs, our Culturally Programmed Belief Systems have shaped how we behave, including our non-verbal language, and our individual body languages, which make up more than 90 percent of what we are communicating to others in the world every day of our lives.

With those ruminations, I leave you.

Shirley Gallup