Cross-Cultural Clashes

When I hear stories of these cultural clashes, I immediately revert to my knowledge of cross cultural encounters. I ponder what it must have been like for the Europeans landing in Massachusetts. They came in with the mindset to conquer and change rather than to learn and listen. Europeans had been practicing traditions in Europe for hundreds of years, perhaps without knowledge of their origins. Rather than suspending judgment about the American Indians, European settlers came with an attitude of superiority: their lifestyle was the only way. Loewen explains that even white newcomers chose to live an American Indian lifestyle simply because they found their lifestyle so alluring. Rather than embracing these cultural uniquenesses that their people had come to know, Europeans tried to "stop the outflow” (107). They made it a crime for men to wear long hair. They threatened to kill any person who tried to run away to the Indians. Their arrogance had risen to such a level that they could not even accept the fact that other’s may want to live contrarily to their own traditions. The so-called faith of love and acceptance that the Europeans brought to America was just the opposite. When one has an attitude of judgement they have ceased to be willing to learn from any other person. They can only see their faults. Suspending judgment is a choice. Humility is a choice. Love is a choice. The Europeans chose hate.