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Supporting the speaker's claim is the fact that each culture has its own distinct ethos--
consisting of its core values, principles, and spirit which defines and distinguishes the culture.
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And I agree that the failure of one culture to understand the unique ethos of another is what
often lies at the root of discord between nations and cultures. An apt current-day illustration of
this point involves a certain American Indian tribe in Washington State, and its traditional
custom of whale hunting. Environmentalists denounce the practice as unnecessary
endangerment of a species. However, underlying this custom is a centuries-old spiritual belief
that ceremonial whale-hunting is sacrificial ritual honoring Nature, and an even more
fundamental Native American ethos, characterized by a far greater respect for animals and for
Nature than the ethos of white Americans.
The sort of unfair judgment exemplified by certain white Americans' denunciation of Native
American customs and practices is what sociologists term "ethnocentricity"-- reference to
one's own cultural ethos as a standard for judging the values and actions of other people.
History informs us all too well that ethnocentricity leads inexorably to disharmony. Virtually all
wars are rooted in religious ethnocentricity. Political ethnocentricity results in
imperialism--assimilation of any and all peoples with complete disregard or respect for ethos.
Understandable resistance to British imperialism during the 19th Century resulted in the
oppression and demise of many indigenous peoples of Africa and Indonesia. And
ethnocentricity on a societal level can lead to mass persecution, as demonstrated by the
legions of citizens and soldiers brainwashed by the Nazis into believing that the Jewish race
posed some sort of threat to German society and to the Arian race.
Thus the speaker's contention that harmonious international relations are impossible
because of conflicting cultural values finds ample support from history. Yet, as compelling as
this argument might be, it nevertheless suffers from two notable deficiencies. First, in spite of
their differences the world's mainstream cultures all share certain fundamental
tenets--particularly about the dignity of human life and that they all agree upon these tenets,
at least tacitly. And people should judge other cultures against such universal standards.
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