Ethnocentrism: Acceptance and Tolerance of Cultural Differences

When I started writing this journal and observing people, I realized that ethnocentrism painfully exists in our everyday lives. People judge other people's color, race, religion, belief, fashion, diet, and just about everything that is different from their own reality. Somehow, this belief of one group, one idea, one faith, or one kind of lifestyle develops a fraternal bond with those whom we see akin to us. However, wars, crimes, and racism emerge from issues of alienation, ostracism, autonomy, and similar forms that manifest desire to be separated, independent, or even simply assertive. However Plato said that" knowledge does not reside in the impressions, but in our reflection upon them". My interpretation of this statement is that when we are ethnocentric, we have a limited view of things around us. Criticizing seems inherent in us even if we don't fully understand the things that we object to.

A strong example of ethnocentrism that I would like to discuss is the incident when my Aunt Chris states "Jehovah Witness are more truthful in their sermons then other religions". That was a very blatant statement of faith without total regard to the feelings and beliefs of others. My grandmother, a Baptist, didn't comment on that remark but I believe it left a bad taste in the mouth. Nevertheless, I do respect my aunt's opinion even If disagree with it. It is important to practice tolerance so as to peacefully co-exist. In the Declaration on the Principles of Tolerance, UNESCO stated that "Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human". Ironically in history, religious tolerance was practiced by Muslim empires to people who practiced different forms of religion, especially the Jews. Although my aunt's beliefs were steadfast, it was grounded on beliefs that are assumptions that needs disproved. In the first place, nobody knows what religion tells the truth. In case there is a truth, what kind of truth would that be? Her values were formed by the religion that she advocated. Obviously, she valued the truth; unfortunately, that truth is contained within the circle of her belief. Her own belief system ( Jehovah's Witness ) created a truth. In one way or another, this belief would set norms that its members must practice. Looking within myself, I tried to evaluate if I have also formed some beliefs that disturbed me when my aunt said the statement. Since I have been exposed to various religious beliefs within our family, I was wondering if I attached myself to a particular belief and created my own value system. Going to church on Sundays is a clear expression of a certain religious belief. Attending church, praying, participating in charities, joining fellowship, going to outreach missions are norms practiced by a group of people known as Christians. Norms are expected practices or actions from an individual that belongs to a group. Now, the issue is why did I not like what my aunt said? It could mean that I also have my own truth enmeshed in my belief.

In connection with this argument, the statement of my Aunt Jackie regarding witches had a similar tone to the statement of Aunt Chris. They may have different religious beliefs but they manifest an attitude that shows exclusivity. In the case of Aunt Chris, people who practice witchcraft are excluded from her group. Even if her religious group is not specifically defined, it can be inferred that she is a Christian that abhors anything that is evil. Her Christian belief does not value witchcraft as a practice. It is therefore a norm for Christians to shun away from any ritual, action, ceremony that contradicts the goodness of God. The practice of witchcraft due to the extensive use of symbolism is often associated with devil worship. Even though there are many forms of witchcraft, witches are generally considered the devil's handmaiden. Again, history has recorded the cruelty inflicted on people suspected of practicing sorcery or divination. Although we do not physically oppose the practice of witchcraft in the modern setting, there is still a form of social control that Christians show against these people which is called ostracism.

According to Archeopaedia, the practice of ostracism was introduced by Cleisthenes in the 5^th century. Its main objective was to control people or persons from wielding influence that could lead to tyranny. The person who was ostracized would be sent into a 10 year exile. Nowadays, we do not exile people; rather, they can choose self-exile when conditions around them warrant danger. However, these people (witches) are ostracized by Christian groups through gossiping, excluding them from socialization, or openly rebuking them.

Why does witchcraft gain provocation from Christian groups then? The answer to this is symbols. Witches are indirectly linked to devil-worship as shown by the symbols that they use in their rituals. Among these symbols associated with devil-worship are pentagram, reverse cross, and Babylon seal. Symbols are important since they establish commonality among group members and can be used as a form of communication. Tattoos, body marks, piercing are not considered acceptable to Christian groups since this is a form of labeling. Conservative Chris- tians take the meaning of these symbols seriously. Criticizing objectively, this is a form of Christian ethnocentrism since these offend their long held beliefs. It deviates from the Christian belief that God is the only creator since devil worship places another god before the altar of faith. The devil in Christian context is a lesser being, a fallen angel that will be defeated in the final battle. Thus, worshipping the devil is a mockery to God in the highest form . The level of ethnocentrism from Christians is extremely high since these devil worshippers are already regarded by Christians as damned. Hell is the only place for them unless they repent. This is a strong manifestation of ethnocentrism in Christianity.

An alternative way to be not ethnocentric is to practice religious tolerance. Certain groups are already promoting religious tolerance but they are still under fire from fundamentalist

accusing them of pluralism. According to the site Apologetics index "religious pluralism is the theory that there are more than one or two kinds of ultimate reality and/or truth; and that therefore more than one religion can be said to have the truth (way to God, salvation, etcetera) - even if their essential doctrines are mutually exclusive". Thus, promoting religious tolerance can help promote harmonious relationship to a community of people with different beliefs. However, those who disagree would always express their dissenting opinion.

Outside of the religious context, symbols have powerful influence especially among the youth. So strong is the meaning conveyed by these symbols that the Anti-Defamation League Website warned administrators, school officials, and parents to be conscious of symbols that students use. Educators are wary of hate symbols due to gun-shooting incidents inside school campuses for the last few years. By the way, the Anti-Defamation League is a website that is vigilant on hatred against Jews. Again, this is an example of an ethnocentrism by the Jews towards the white community. Although they cannot be blamed by protecting themselves from further attacks, their sentiments offend the majority of white groups. A good incident that can be related to this when I heard on the Tyra Bank's show the comment of a woman about Arabs. Since the topic of discussion was all about Race, a woman frankly stated that Arabs are terrorists. Although I am not an Arab, I was appalled by the brand name accorded to them - terrorists. While it is true that it Americans are still traumatized by the 911 incident, not all Americans harbor resentment against Arabs. There are also Arab-Americans who perished in that tragedy. The unidentified woman in the show must have earned the ire of the Arabs watching the prog-ram that moment. Even the show itself would be associated with something negative about the Arabs. This is what ethnocentrism can do. Even with unfounded beliefs, we issue provoking statements that negatively attached a brand to a certain culture. The sad part is, people who are emotional about these issues will accept the opinion without evaluating its validity. Not all Arabs are terrorists, some of them that I personally know are decent people who felt ashamed after the 911 incident, they also felt the pain of losing a loved one. The group of people who died that day were not selectively chosen. All of them were a mixture of races that worked in that building. Perhaps, the woman in the program must have had a bad experience with an Arab. Maybe, she had an unfriendly Arab neighbor that did not fit her expected behavior like cooking strong-smelling food, showing indifference, or picking up a fight with her over a petty matter. How-ever, it is not enough to judge the whole Arab population just because one representative of their race did something terrible. They too are people like us. The famous singer Sting sang a line "the Russians love their children too" in one of his songs. According to my uncle, this song hit the charts when the Cold War was going on. The Russians, like the Arabs, were viewed before as an "evil race". They were the complete nemesis of the American race, only this time it is the Arabs. In the next few years, we can never say who will be the next race that will be given a brand name.

The lesson that can be learned here is acceptance and tolerance again. We must not be highly-opinionated about issues we do not completely know, much more if we are talking about a certain culture. Each country has its own distinct heritage formed by its history; thus, the outcome is as unique as the thumb mark. We would not fully understand other people unless we have experienced the pain, joy, anger, or happiness that they have felt. The imprint that our negative statements have made against a people, a race, belief or simply another fellow human cannot be repaired nor compensated. Sometimes, words that have been said cannot be undone. Unless we accept and respect each one in this world, we would not be able to achieve peace, harmony and even justice.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Author unknown. Ostracism. Archeopedia. May 14, 1998. Stanford. Edu. http:// traumwerk. Stanford.edu:3455/Archaeopaedia/166

Author Unknown.Hate on Display. A Visual Display of Extremist Symbols, Logos,Tattoos.2005.ADL website. http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/default.asp

Author unknown. Pluralism.Apologetics Index. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ p14.html

Declaration on the Principles of Independence. UNESCO.