Is Obama a Socialist?

[DuncanONeil]

There is humility and then there is humility. All is not the same.

When speaking of apologies and respect abroad one might take into account the differences between low and high context cultures. The U.S. is a low context culture, where respect is earned by "straight talk." In short we are blunt, straight to the point, we primarily use language to express our thoughts, feelings and ideas as directly as possible. We tend to get annoyed by what we perceive as "beating around the bush."

Many other cultures (especially Asian and Middle Eastern) are high context, relying on subtle gestures and non verbal cues to help maintain harmony between people. These cultures generally place more emphasis on, and derive meaning from, the context in which a message is delivered. High context cultures are far more ritualistic in their communication. They are often offended by the "bluntness" and "arrogance" of low context communications.

The U.S. is a culture that is highly individualistic, hallmarked by self-reliance and competition. We place a higher value on helping ourselves, where collectivistic cultures place higher value on in-groups: extended families, communities, even organizations one works for. They tend to value the group over the individual and "saving face" (not so much your own but allowing others to save face) is the grease that keep the gears of their societies moving.

An apology in different cultures is a sign of strength not of weakness.

I for one, am happy we have a president that understands a little humility goes a long way abroad.

Respectfully,
Tantric