Accepting the Other (and more food for thought)

Brief discussion with a friend studying and connecting in Mexico, absorbing aspects of communities in Mexico City, the Yucatan, the Chiapas and elsewhere. Always a mind opening experience:

1. To read: "To Hell With Good Intentions," by Ivan Illich. It's quite easy to find through Google. In fact, here you are. My pre-reading understanding (where's the logic in that? but here I go) is that it captures the idea that human rights efforts and other "service work" can cause more harm than good, particularly when committed by an outsider who lacks a true and full understanding of life in a given area. The result is a bunch of faulty prescriptions for change founded in the agent's own world view. The world is full of a patchwork of different values and perspectives.

My personal feeling, pre-read, is that there are SOME incontrovertible truths and rights in this world, and that not EVERYTHING can be adapted and explained through cultural difference. However, a great deal CAN. I know that I as a person to often feel that my beliefs are part of the former incontrovertible category, when in reality they almost never are. Replace stubbornness and self righteousness with meekness and an open mind, and we're getting somewhere.

2. Direct Quote "I've also learned that the biggest difference, the most important difference, and the only good difference I can make is in my own community, and that any global problem cannot be solved on the global level."

Commentary on this one--I brought up the fact that the world cannot exist as a series of independent pockets. For better or for worse, we shall for the foreseeable future be in constant contact with one another and have to learn to live together in some extent or another. While we cannot shape positive change in areas outside our own, we can reach out and build bridge, seeking common understanding and learning--if we can walk together with open minds. In that event, we can shape positive forces in both communities.

Here's where the "accepting the other" bit comes from--we are all VERY different people, even those at the same school, in the same neighborhood, at the same company--our backgrounds are diverse, whether that's immediately apparent (comparing me with a Bolivian) or not (me with another US university student from a similar socio-economic background). Values, priorities, beliefs, patterns of speech, modes of dress, etc. All differ, to a great or a slight extent.

Now while I do feel that SOME things are absolutes, we should never jump immediately to the conclusion that something IS of an absolute black and white nature. It's better to tend to the gray and make sure that we've reached an understanding of our differences first. Now I know I don't necessarily tend to do this, but it's good practice and something to work towards. Respect.