An OWYP welcome: ode to culture
Denizens,
I have often asked myself, what is culture? And more importantly, who defines the values that define a particular culture? While I do not have the answers to these questions, the last two months have led me to some interesting observations.
I am Alisha and I lived the first eighteen years of my life in India. I moved to Indiana this fall to pursue an undergraduate degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. The experience so far has been very exciting. Each day brings new lessons and each class teaches something new. Here, I want to share a specific instance: my English teacher brought an article from the editorial section of the college newspaper for our class to discuss. In his opening lines, the writer proclaimed a new era for the United Nations. I was excited at the prospect but only till he elaborated- he believed it to be the beginning of an era wherein the UN is used as a mouthpiece for the criticism of the U.S. His strange comparison between certain simplistic events of criticism by one nation of another in the General Assembly, to the Holocaust was amusing and frightening at the same time. It was ironical to me, as an international student because from where I come, most people believe instead that the UN is a mouthpiece of the U.S.
Perhaps, in each society we dwell so much on our strengths that we try to use it as a way to make up for our weaknesses. In India, one would often hear “so what if ‘the West’ is economically superior to us, they don’t have our cultural richness”. Why don’t we say instead, “we shall use our cultural richness as a tool for socio-economic development”? I want to be a part of a generation that is not afraid of looking beyond the welfare of its native land.
Involvement in OWYP signifies the courage to dream of mutually connected global communities, the courage to accept our strengths and weaknesses and the fortitude to turn weaknesses into strengths. It represents an effort to create a win-win situation for all players in the game of global dynamics.
Let’s play this game together; let’s play to win!
Dream big,
Alisha
I have often asked myself, what is culture? And more importantly, who defines the values that define a particular culture? While I do not have the answers to these questions, the last two months have led me to some interesting observations.
I am Alisha and I lived the first eighteen years of my life in India. I moved to Indiana this fall to pursue an undergraduate degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. The experience so far has been very exciting. Each day brings new lessons and each class teaches something new. Here, I want to share a specific instance: my English teacher brought an article from the editorial section of the college newspaper for our class to discuss. In his opening lines, the writer proclaimed a new era for the United Nations. I was excited at the prospect but only till he elaborated- he believed it to be the beginning of an era wherein the UN is used as a mouthpiece for the criticism of the U.S. His strange comparison between certain simplistic events of criticism by one nation of another in the General Assembly, to the Holocaust was amusing and frightening at the same time. It was ironical to me, as an international student because from where I come, most people believe instead that the UN is a mouthpiece of the U.S.
Perhaps, in each society we dwell so much on our strengths that we try to use it as a way to make up for our weaknesses. In India, one would often hear “so what if ‘the West’ is economically superior to us, they don’t have our cultural richness”. Why don’t we say instead, “we shall use our cultural richness as a tool for socio-economic development”? I want to be a part of a generation that is not afraid of looking beyond the welfare of its native land.
Involvement in OWYP signifies the courage to dream of mutually connected global communities, the courage to accept our strengths and weaknesses and the fortitude to turn weaknesses into strengths. It represents an effort to create a win-win situation for all players in the game of global dynamics.
Let’s play this game together; let’s play to win!
Dream big,
Alisha
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