Abstract
Cultural awareness as described by different scholars has developed to be a major issue in the society. This paper therefore aims to shed more light on the topic and detail its relation to the people. The essay discusses the levels of cultural competence along the cultural proficiency continuum including; destructiveness, incapacity, blindness, competence and the proficiency levels. The paper also goes ahead to talk of one stronger area of cultural proficiency which is race. Additionally, while proceeding with the paper, major information is given with regards to the level of cultural proficiency in the society. To balance the coin, strengths and weaknesses are to be matched. Therefore, the paper details some of the weaknesses linked to sexuality. The paper painted a clear picture of how one feels about the gay people and their desire to change. In conclusion, the paper tries to cover some of the issues related to cultural awareness.
Keywords: Cultural Awareness, Cultural Proficiency Continuum, Cultural Competence, Race, Stereotype
Introduction
Cultural proficiency continuum basically classifies the variety of values as well as behaviors that individuals or/and policies and the practices of a particular organization that reflects the responses they have to diversity (The cultural competence continuum. 1990). Cultural competence refers to the level-based skills that are required so as to provide effective care to those patients from different racial or ethnic group.
Cultural competence necessitates individuals/organizations to have defined set of values as well as principles, attitudes, demonstrate values policies and structures that will enable them work effectively across the different cultures. It is a developmental process and therefore it extends over a long period.
Levels of cultural competence
Both the organizations and individuals are at the various levels along the cultural proficiency continuum namely awareness. The first level is destructiveness. At this level, the attitudes and the practices are destructive to the cultures of others. There is also purposeful dehumanization and destruction of other people’s culture whereby one assumes that his/her culture is superior to other’s culture, eradication of other people’s culture is also evident (The cultural competence continuum. 1990).
The dominant groups tend to exploit the other groups. The second level is incapacity. At this level there is unintentional cultural destructiveness; the system is always biased, characterized by a paternal attitude to other groups. There is fear of other groups and their cultures, ignorance and discriminatory practices. There is the lowering of other group’s expectations at the incapacity level. The third level is the blindness level. At the blindness level, the philosophy of being unbiased; the beliefs that the cultural difference, color and class make no significant difference and the application of the traditional approaches which is a well-intentioned philosophy although it is still an ethnocentric approach. There is also the pre-competence level. At this level there is the realization of the of one’s weaknesses especially in working with other cultures, individuals implement training, they assess needs as well as using of diversity criteria when they are hired, individuals have the desire for inclusion, they are also committed to the civil rights.
The competence level is characterized by the acceptance and respect for the differences; there is the continual assessment of sensitivity to different cultures as for institutions, they will hire diverse and unbiased staff. The proficiency level is the last along the continuum. At this level the diverse cultures are held in high esteem, there is also continuous development of new approaches which seek to add to the knowledge base; advocacy for cultural competence is with all the systems and institutions (Carter, 2005).
My stronger area
My stronger area of cultural proficiency is race. My level along the cultural proficiency continuum is the competence level. Individually, I have a lot of respect for the different cultures. I respect the fact that despite one coming from whatever race he/she should not be discriminated on the basis of his/her color. I believe that jobs should not be allocated on the basis of the race that an individual comes from, electoral posts should not be on the basis of race and also the fact that statements should not be made in a manner that they encourage racial discrimination. I also conduct continuous self-assessments with regards to my perceptions, attitudes and behaviors when it comes to the issue of race. I always pay careful attention to the dynamics of race. I embrace the diversity that people from different races come with. I also like to expand my cultural knowledge beyond the race that I come from. As an individual, I will not stereotype different individuals that I come across, based on their race. I mean if someone is Latino, African-American; white whatever race I like handling them as individuals.
I also embrace the fact that there are many people who are not from my race that will add great value in my life. As an individual I always seek to build new relationships with the people from different races, making one-to-one connections with the people from other races and not only those that come from my race. I believe that if at all we are to achieve significant goals, then it is important that as individuals, institutions and nations we must be willing to build relationships with people from different races and cultures (Dolan & Kawamura, 2015). It is high time that even the parents taught their children to build good relations with other children from different races. This will even make sure that our children can get even better education, better healthcare in our communities and even promote positive economic growth. If at all we are to work collaboratively with the people from different races or languages then it is important that we build our relationships on the foundation of trust, we also need to build caring relationships and understanding where we will be guided by common goals.
Different races can come together can be glued together when they come together to solve common problems. When people work towards solving common problems they will always hang there even when times are hard. Different races will support each other and encourage each other to stay with an effort even when times are discouraging (Dolan & Kawamura, 2015). People will have to resists the negative energy of those individuals that encourage racial discrimination who want to employ the divide-and-rule techniques pitting particular races against the other.
Whether you come from the Vietnamese, Caucasian, Jewish- African-American or any other race at one point and time you will be required to build relationships with people from different races whom probably you may know very little about. The first step towards building these relationships is first understanding your own culture (race) and understanding how it affects/has affected you on the first hand. You will need to understand the values that your race has passed down to you, because obviously there are those values that have been passed down. You will then understand how you view other people from different races (Dolan & Kawamura, 2015).
It is true that our cultural heritage has influenced to a large extent how we view/perceive each other but is upon us to embrace the issues of diversity (Dolan & Kawamura, 2015). When we embrace diversity we can solve very many problems together despite our cultural orientations. Making conscious decisions to establish friendships with individuals from other races is our first step towards building our strength for cultural proficiency in terms of racial perceptions, behaviors and attitudes.
Breaking societal forces that restrain us from building relationships with people from different races is also necessary and if at all we want to make changes we therefore need to take active steps to effect the change. As individuals we need also to put ourselves in the shoes of the minority; putting ourselves in the situations that we need the people we meet who are not form our race will also help us to embrace racial diversity a great deal (Carter, 2005) .
If we learn to examine our bias about the people from other races we will be on the right track of eliminating racial discrimination. Many of us like stereotyping people on the basis of their race and once we examine our thoughts about how we acquired the vice we will learn that as individuals we should not stereotype a person based on race because of something we heard when we were kids (Carter, 2005).
My area of weakness
I agree to some extent I have contributed to prejudice and oppression particularly of the gay people at my tender age. I dislike the whole idea. I must admit that I lie at the destructiveness level. At this level, the attitudes and the practices are destructive to the cultures of others. There is also purposeful dehumanization and destruction of other people’s culture whereby one assumes that his/her culture is superior to other’s culture, eradication of other people’s culture is also evident. The dominant groups tend to exploit the other groups
I do not like the gay people. Actually I hate the gay people. I have negative attitudes towards any gay person I meet. I tend to exercise purposeful dehumanization and destruction towards the gay people. By the fact that my sexual orientation is straight I don’t think that I can relate with the gay people anyway. I tend to convince myself that the gay people are all infected with HIV/AIDs although I know for a fact that this is not always the case. I know that I have a big weakness on this area because I would not like even to hear of a gay story that involve the ‘ungodly’ acts. I would not even like to understand whether the gay people are born gay or not and this for sure makes me think that at times I should conduct some research so that I can stop stereotyping.
I sideline the gay people in every aspect and that been the case I have never invited any gay person that I know to any of my functions, not even a birthday party. I am not of the idea that I can be a friend to a gay people even when they do not force it on me. I also extend my dehumanization and prejudice against the gay people to an extent that I do not like the idea that some of them attend the same church that I do.
Genuinely speaking, I have a big weakness. I find it very difficult when it comes to relating with people who are gay. Even in high school I was among the people who advocated on bullying the people who were rumored to have gay sexual orientation. I have believed since then that it is not culturally appropriate; it is against the Christian beliefs and the acceptable norms of a decent culture that I happen to come from. I was also against the idea that a person can have heterosexual sexual orientation and this still holds up to date. Maybe it is high time that I considered embracing the people with a different sexual orientation because the world today constitutes of a lot of people who happen to be gay. I will need to adjust my attitudes and perceptions towards the gay people because even at places of work these people are there and therefore I am left with no option. I know it will not take me a few days to adjust but one thing is for sure I will have to adjust (Dolan & Kawamura, 2015).
References
Dolan, S. L., & Kawamura, K. M. (2015). Cross Cultural Competence: A Field Guide for Developing Global Leaders and Managers. Bradford, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Carter, R. T. (2005). Handbook of racial-cultural psychology and counseling: Vol. 2. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
The cultural competence continuum. (1990). S.I.: publisher not identified.
