Regional Attitudes and American Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regional Attitudes and American Identity - Essay Example My friend explained that the Philippine culture is very rich in diversity due to both history and geography. Historically, he explained that the Philippine people are actually composed of ethnicities from different foreign cultures that migrated centuries ago. The immigrants were mostly Malay and Muslim from the surrounding neighbor islands, while later years would bring the Chinese, then the Spanish, and then the North Americans. Geographically, the various mountain ranges and islands act as cultural borders, giving each separated region its own cultural development. My friend is from the capital city of Manila, which he believes is a place where the old face of his home country is being overlapped heavily by the new trends of globalization. He gives high regard to the old ways that place value on virtues, which are close to Western ideas of chivalry and a mix of the Oriental notion of filial respect. However, he also believes that the new ways of thinking are important if his country is to progress and to keep the pace of development without slacking. From how I understand it, this creates conflict between the two cultural perspectives that try to control the cultural plane. Scott and Sherson (1999) indicated that, â€Å"the problem for intercultural communication is that communication is never between cultures per se, but always between people. And people, and the contexts in which they interact, are unique, dynamic, and changeable† (p.4). My friend finds an example of such conflict between him and his mother. He stated that his mother is so attached to the old cultural ways that her methods of dealing with matters are ineffective and inefficient. On the other hand, he notes that his forward thinking and practical methods is taken as an upfront resistance or seen as disrespect to his mother’s sense of authority. According to him, such intercultural conflict exists in his country within homes and even between regions, beliefs