Is it possible to be objective?
Our cultural heritage, our upbringing, the norms of the community we belong to, and the influence of the media shape our thinking at the deepest level of our existence. Our perception of the world and our place in it is a product of our historical relationship with our surroundings.
Do we dare to strip away our own culture?
Do we dare to question the structural norms that shape our society and our own way of thinking? Is there anything left then? Who are we then? Can we seriously shed our geocentric worldview?
What good does it do to sit at home in little Sweden, in our safety, and judge another country’s domestic political issues based on media that is subjectively produced with hidden motives we cannot even guess?
Can we truly understand their way of thinking? Their everyday life? Their challenges, their societal norms, their history, their trauma, their upbringing, their picture of the world?
I believe we would all feel better with a little more humility about our utter inadequacy in fully understanding each other. It is so easy to judge, but I am convinced that 99 % of all conflicts stem from ignorance and misunderstanding, worldviews that collide. They will always differ! There are as many worldviews as there are people and animals on Earth. It takes a whole lifetime in another man’s or woman’s shoes to fully grasp their world, their reality.
The antidote is to travel
Experience the world, other cultures, with an open mind and the insight that you know so little. See other cultures. Dare to view the world through their eyes and do not be too quick to judge. You will never fully understand.
