When looking at or comparing two cultures that are vastly
different from one another, it can arouse friction between the cultures. Often times the views and beliefs between
cultures are unique in their own ways, but in the same sense different from
what another culture might be used to believing to. In the story Things Fall Apart, it is quite apparent that the culture shock of
the African tribes of the story is completely different than that of today’s
current culture in America. Throughout
the entire, several instances occurred where I personally thought that whatever
the tribe or a character valued, I would not have thought as acceptable, mostly
because of the environment I have grown up in, and the morals that I have been
taught. The problem that this creates is
the idea that the beliefs that one is brought up with within their own culture
are the beliefs that are correct and that anything otherwise is wrong. As children many people are not taught, at east
in depth, about different cultures and how their beliefs might be different
than your own and that you should be tolerant of them anyways. Therefore, because most people are only
brought up to believe in one way, they are not able to gain a tolerance for the
beliefs and values of others that may differ from their own. Since most individuals are brought up in this
way, the differences between cultures and their beliefs cause friction between different
groups of people. This friction is what
causes people to be hateful towards one another and. I personally feel that it is important for
individuals to have both a wealth of knowledge about different cultures as well
as have one central culture that they are able to stick to and place their
beliefs in. This way, individuals are
able to have the ability to cooperate with others that might be different from
themselves. It is important for people
to be able to both know and have respect for different cultures and their
values; and that just because something is different from what you personally
believe, it does not mean it is necessarily wrong or immoral, it is just
different.
