Food for Thought

A review of various websites containing information about the opening of the Walmart Supermercado stores revealed instances of vitriolic comments, with calls for people living in the United States to learn English and adopt the U.S. culture. Think about the following: Have you ever traveled abroad? Did you see any U.S. fast food outlets such as those listed below?

Starbucks in Berlin, Pizza Hut in Beijing, Denny’s in Tokyo, Taco Bell in Bangalore, Burger King in London, KFC in Paris, Wendy’s in Mexico City.

How did you feel? How do you think the local residents might have reacted when those restaurants were opened in their home country? Why?

This contemporary mixing of people from varied nationalities and ethnic groups, brought about by immigration, global business connections, the ease of international travel, Internet social networking sites, and increased societal acceptance is also dramatically increasing the number of international interpersonal relationships. In Europe, international marriages (also referred to as interracial marriage, biracial marriage, cross-cultural marriage, intercultural marriage, interethnic marriage, and intermarriage) are growing in number (Pulsipher & Pulsipher, 2008), no doubt abetted by the European Union’s emphasis on cultural diversity. A recent report indicates that in the United States “7 percent of America’s 59 million married couples in 2005 were interracial, compared to less than 2 percent in 1970” (Crary, 2007). These cross-cultural unions are expected to increase, and such couples will encounter a host of challenges, both within society and between themselves. Cultural issues such as identity, gender roles, religious traditions, language, communication behaviors, conflict styles, child-rearing practices, family acceptance, and many, many more, including some as mundane as food choices, will have to be managed.

The issues of the future we have mapped out in this section represent only a portion of the cultural challenges you will need to confront in the increasingly globalized social order. Others problem areas requiring intercultural skills include the following: Religious fundamentalism will continue to present inflexible opinions on a variety of U.S. domestic subjects—gay rights, same-sex marriage, pro-life/pro-choice, etc.—which can lead to violent confrontation.

International fundamentalism remains the motivation for many terrorists and underlies the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Aging populations coupled with declining birthrates will create a shortage of indigenous workers in many developed nations, requiring a still greater influx of immigrants. These new, younger arrivals will be needed to fill vacant jobs and to contribute to the tax base supporting national social welfare programs.

We began with a discussion of how globalization has harnessed the forces of contemporary geopolitics, technology, economics, immigration, and media to produce an ever-shrinking world community, making interaction among people from different cultures more and more common and necessary. We end with a reflection on the requirement and urgency for greater tolerance of cultural differences generated by this new multipolar world order. The world’s population, as well as U.S. domestic demographics, continues to move toward a pluralistic, multicultural society at a quickstep pace. The social forces behind this movement will not easily or soon subside. The resulting cultural mixing requires that we, both individually and as a society, become more tolerant of the varied beliefs, worldviews, values, and behaviors of people from other cultures. Acceptance or tolerance may not be appropriate in every situation, nor is universal, unquestioning acquiescence to every difference advocated. We do, however, have to be willing to “live and let live” on a broader scale. That we do not yet seem able or prepared to do this is demonstrated by ongoing international and domestic struggles.

The international community is beleaguered with sectarian violence arising from ideological, cultural, and ethnic differences. As we write this chapter, conflict between religious factions in Iraq appears to be resurging. In the Darfur region of Sudan, people continue to be killed and driven from their homes as a result of cultural and racial differences. The longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains unresolved, and there is little promise of a solution in the near future. The dispute between India and Pakistan continues over who should control the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir in the Himalayas. The conflict between the Russian government and separatist movements in the Caucasus continues to ebb and flow. The indigenous Uygur ethnic minority in western China continues to exhibit animosity toward government policies favoring immigration into the region by other Chinese ethnic groups, especially the Han. Drought, famine, a burgeoning population, and ineffective governmental control continue to exacerbate ethnic and religious violence throughout the Horn of Africa. Maoist insurgents in eastern India, claiming that the government exploits poor rural peasants, have escalated their violence. The global war on terrorism, a product of variant ideological and cultural perspectives, continues with little prospect of a final solution. Disagreement over what constitutes human rights remains a source of tension among many nations.

Intolerance of differences is also a continuing issue within the United States, where we are divided over a seeming multitude of culturally based issues, many of which fall along a conservative vs. Liberal ideological divide. The demands of coping with the diverse customs, values, views, and behaviors inherent in a multicultural society are producing increased levels of personal frustration, social stress, and often violence.

Instruction:Above are three meaningfully tied paragraphs of greater length than those in previous texts. They contain general information in the field of global changes producing impact on American society.This text abounds in facts and names which may sound vaguely familiar but as a would-be professional in crosscultural communication you are advised to take your time and clear out for yourself the connotations behind these facts and names. Tone questionsask you to determine the author's feelings about the topic by the language that he or she uses in writing the passage. Attitude questionsare very similar to tone questions. Again, you must understand the author's opinion. The language that the author uses will tell you what his or her position is.

Your task is to understand the texts and determine the authors’ feelings about the topics.

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