We are currently living in a changing world and a world of chaos. Different cultures are trying to reign supreme in the world which has been a one of the major cause of the numerous conflicts and misunderstandings across countries and groups of people.
In a community of difference, the prime mover should be our ability to realize and respect that we are different people with different needs, beliefs and characteristics. We tend to concentrate on the word “self” and “mine” all the time. This makes us feel superior over the others and makes us think that we should have everything even if we don’t actually need them. This concept also makes us want to compete with the other in our community just to prove to others that we are better than them. With this mind set, we tend to forget, that other people also have their needs and emotions that needs satisfaction. We try to get everything and never leave anything for them. With this mentality, we cannot be considered a global citizen.
We can become global citizens by embracing interculturality. Interculturality is defined as the “capacity to experience cultural otherness and to use this experience to reflect on matters which are normally taken for granted within one's own culture and environment” (UniSA, 2012). Realizing our cultural differences must be use to understand the needs of other people and not to use this against them. By respecting our cultural differences we can understand more the needs of other people with different culture. We may find soon find out how theirs is so interesting that we want to adapt what they have. We may find the beliefs of others as unacceptable upon learning it, but when we try to understand and immerse ourselves with it and understand why they have such beliefs, we can see ourselves appreciating and valuing what they have. Our perceptions of other culture can change aside from having gained deeper knowledge and understanding.
Becoming a global citizen needs a mindset that thinks of the welfare of other instead of thinking for yourself alone. In anything that we do, we must ask ourselves first, if I do this, are there other people who might be affected of what I am going to do? Every interaction that we have to other people, may that person belongs to the wealthy class, or the most lowly class contributes a lot to what we become and how we perceive things. It does not mean that when we interact with educated people, we get the education or the knowledge that we are looking for. Sometimes, going to the roots or actual experiencing of things gives us the knowledge that we need in order to understand how things work and in order to realize what we should do or the importance of things around us.
The most important thing to become a truly global citizen is to be respectful and understanding of what other has rather than becoming too judgmental. If we cannot understand things as we see them, try to experience them to gain more knowledge and understanding. After that, place yourself in their shows before and decision and judgment you make. Always bear in mind that “No man is an island”. To be able to survive, you need others. In our era, with everything connected by technology, we must be concerned of what is happening around us because this can also affect us. As global citizens, we must get involved.
Works Cited:
Becomeaglobalcitizen. Becoming a Global citizen. Becomeaglobalcitizen.org. Become a Global citizen. n.d. Web. 2012. Feb. 1.
UniSA. Interculturality. Unisa.edu.au. unisa. n.d. Web. 2012. Feb. 1.
