When people feel their values threatened in ambiguous situations (as intercultural interactions are with few exceptions), they often tend to assert these values more aggressively in their behavior. The aggressive assertion of one’s values, and the attempt to impose them upon another through argument, persuasion or force signals to me not a firm commitment to said values, but rather a lack of such commitment. How can values we are truly committed to, that is, ones we genuinely believe in, be threatened by interacting with others, even if they do not share these values? My exposure to and exploration of other cultures has absolutely not diluted my values or eroded my identity. On the contrary, I feel that it has strengthened my commitment to certain values by making me less defensive about them and more willing to think critically about the foundation they are built on. From my perspective, this process is by no means one of identity erosion, but rather one of identity enrichment.
Yet there persists all around us a fear and aversion to the notion of cultural relativism, a term that to many connotes moral relativism or even nihilism. This fear is often expressed through the belief that venturing too far outside our respective identity groups will lead to a “watering down” of values and beliefs that will spell the certain demise of our civilization. It is my opinion that this impending doom brought on by cultural relativism, and perhaps even the possibility of cultural relativism existing at all, is a chimera. This entry as well as my next explores this mythology of intercultural resistance, which I perceive as nothing more than a convenient defense mechanism and a barrier to interpersonal connectivity.
From my experience, intercultural experience does not necessarily entail any fundamental change in values, although it can facilitate change of a certain nature. That is to say, it has the potential to clarify and enhance our existing values – but only if we voluntarily embrace this process. Nothing is compulsory here; as adults we do not passively absorb our beliefs and principles through a process of osmosis the way we imagine children do (and even this is debatable, in my opinion). The intercultural experience certainly does not lead to any “watering down” of values or identity. I believe this kind of phenomenon is more likely to be caused by cultural isolation and rigidity brought on by fear of difference. Any identity rooted in the fear of engagement with difference is likely to be brittle, maladaptive to changing circumstances, and therefore prone to decay. Furthermore, the aggressive assertion of ones values is likely to contradict and undermine the very values being defended. My next entry will expand on this topic and give an example of how a value can negate itself when pushed to its extreme. I will also suggest a potential reconceptualization of what constitutes true commitment.
