In the past people wore their traditional clothes and followed their culture. These days, most people wear similar clothes and therefore look very similar to one another. Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?
Today, we do not belong to a big planet Earth; we belong to a small global village. In this shrunken world, the cultures have also come closer and as a result people all over the world are dressing up in similar clothes and looking similar. This is largely a positive development.
On the positive side, people have become more tolerant of each other and are accepting each other in a much better way. They have a feeling that they are all connected even though there are different religions and ways of life. For example, when the tsunami disaster occurred, the whole world felt the devastation. People from all over the world offered their support and sent money to help victims. Instead of saying that different parts of the world should deal with their own problems, everyone made other countries problems their own. This shared belief of safety and happiness brought people together for comfort and relief. Every culture can agree on such beliefs. What is more, the idea that the world is shrinking its’ differences and uniting, makes us stronger and more capable to accomplish anything.
Another positive aspect of this culture exchange is that all over the world people are accepting the good points of each other’s culture and this also makes them more aware of the good points of their own culture. For example, the western clothing, jeans and T-shirts, is very comfortable and easy to manage. Therefore, people all over the world have adopted it. In the same way, we can see the inclination of many foreigners towards our cultural values and living style. Our holy books, ‘Geeta’ and ‘Ramayana’ have gone global. Yoga and meditation have gained worldwide popularity. Our Indian classical dances are being taught in western countries and such classes are not monopolized by the Indian students; they have a diversity of students from all over the world.
On the negative side, some people feel that it is leading to a loss of global diversity and people are forgetting their own cultural and traditional values. This seems true on the face value, but I still feel that there are some deep rooted cultural differences which can never be forgotten. Wearing similar clothes and accepting other people’s cultures can never make anyone completely aloof from one’s own culture.
To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that the worldwide similarity among people is largely a positive trend.