Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Ethnocentric

Ethnocentirc is the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture. Whenever you see someone from another country and you immediately think "that is so weird and wrong, why would they do that?", than you are definately considered to be ethnocentric. In order to analyze and take in and experience another culture or custom, you have to be open minded. Just because you are used to a certain behavior doesn't make it the right way to behave everywhere in the world. Although some people might not like to admit it, the vast majority of the world is ethnocentric. It would be very rare to find someone who is completely open-minded enough to willingly adapt and change their ways of life to something that is so foreign to them. I admit that I am ethnocentric. I like to do things the way I was taught and raised and anything different than that seems crazy. My question is, if people are willing to admit and aknowledge that they are ethnocentric is that the next step to brake their habits of ethnocentrism?

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