Conflict and Cultures

I am presently reading The Argumentative Indian, by Amartya Sen. He begins,

“Prolixity is not alien to us in India. We are able to talk at some length. Krishna Menon (when he was leading the Indian delegation) holds the longest speech ever delivered in the United Nations (nine hours non-stop), established half a century ago and, has not been equaled by anyone from any where. We do like to speak.”

I thought about Sen’s book while in the bank the other day. Sure, one gets use to the talking, arguing, bartering in the bazaar, but the bank? I was amused as I listened to the complaints by customers and the defense by the employees. Then I thought about my own culture and how that, when it comes to money, or frustrated with poor service, we can get more than a bit testy as well. I guess it’s true of all cultures. Or is it?

Cultures are usually put into one of two categories, conflict or shame. Shame cultures are often thought to be primarily among peoples of the Far East -- China, Japan, Thailand, etc. It’s not that they don’t argue, they can and they do. However, especially as it relates to interpersonal relationships, they are less confrontational. The best way to handle conflict in those cultures is through third party mediation.

Southeast Asian countries of India, Pakistan, and the Middle East are conflict cultures. One does not need a reason to argue in these societies; even the daily buying of bread is enough for debate. Latin American’s are not passive in their interactions so they, too, would be in the conflict group, but not as much as in Southeast Asia.

In some parts of the Western Europe, tolerance often means no opinion, but one would still not classify them as a shame culture -- perhaps a milk toast combination depending on the situation. American’s can be in-your-face and they lend more toward conflict, though not as severe as the Middle East. I am certain the kids working in the call centers of Mumbai would disagree with my accommodating assessment, but dealing with people who get unsolicited telemarketing calls is not a true gauge of society.

As one looks at confrontation and culture it’s easy to see the transference of religious belief and behavior. (Is religion born out of culture, or is cultural behavior shaped by religion?) The cultures of Buddhism and Shintoism hold humility as a value. While in Korea recently I observed that even among Christian’s, the Shinto approach to life is adopted by everyone in society. Confrontation is dealt with behind the scenes so that one does not lose face.

Evangelical North Americans are individualistic and opinionated and therefore prone more toward confrontation “The Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it,” is not an argument but merely a confrontational slogan. Christians whose motto is “live and let live,” hold a more passive liberal theology and are as useless as the turn-or-burn fundamentalists in communicating the message of Christ to non-belivers.

Muslims of course are in constant conflict. It’s not just a derogatory cartoon that will send them into the streets to riot; they kill their own as a matter of course on issues they find objectionable. Today’s enemy are the infidels, tomorrow it will be the Shiite that lives on the other side of town. “Have a nice day” isn’t a part of their worldview.

The behavior of Hindu’s runs from soup to nuts as it relates to their faith. They either will vehemently argue or arrogantly dismiss those who do not share their beliefs, but they are never neutral.

No matter where you live, the argumentative Indian is in us all. How one manifests that disagreement depends on your culture. In Rome they will ask for a bowl of water as a sign that they will not be involved in such matters, while in Jerusalem they have no problem defending God’s honor by nailing you to a cross. .