ENTRY 13 - I was a Stranger, in a World of Globalization
In his best-selling analysis of the changing global economy, The Earth is Flat, author Thomas Friedman analyzes the changing shifts of the world in terms of globalization, exploring particularly the role of computer technology in shifting the way the world runs. In an subsequent work, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, he looks at the social and human dimensions of globalization, particularly the tension between the drive for economic advancement at national and personal levels and the longing to hold on to traditions, ways and practices, that shape a national culture and identity. He writes, “globalization is not simply a trend or fad but is, rather, an international system. It is the system that has replaced the old Cold War system, and, like that Cold War System, globalization has its own rules and logic that today directly or indirectly influence the politics, environment, geopolitics and economics of virtually every country in the world.”
In travelling India, one can see the effects of economic globalization in social and cultural forms. Familiar corporate names and products are everywhere, from cars (Hyundai, Suzuki, Volkswagen), to personal care items (Colgate toothpaste, Dove soap), and the list goes on. One can eat at McDonald’s in India (although no beef is served, and the options are veggie burger and chicken burger, which comes in spicy and really spicy), or at Domino’s Pizza (again, with a veg and non-veg option), and of course the ubiquitous Coca-Cola can be bought almost anywhere – in fact, it seems most bottled beverages, including water, are licensed under this company. In Canada, of course, we can usually find access to an array of goods from overseas, including India, and so items purchased here are no longer so unique or “foreign” in a world that knows so much about different cultures. The Indian chain of clothing stores, FabIndia, with an outlet in Mysore, also has a web site, and ships internationally, so nothing is really out of reach for those with money.
Perhaps that is one of many troubling aspects of globalization, the homogenizing of the world in some ways. Cultures are under assault, as are languages, and the uniqueness of peoples, languages, cultures, practices, dress, seems to be disappearing.
There is perhaps one positive to this growing globalization, however, although perhaps it existed before we began using this phrase in the 1990s, and perhaps there have always been elements of it present. I speak here of the acceptance, and welcome, of one who is obviously a stranger, and I have been the recipient of this acceptance and welcome often while in India.
The biblical injunction in the book of Deuteronomy reminds the Israelites, as they set out the laws concerning life in the new land, that they must care for the stranger (i.e., foreigner) in their midst: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19). Likewise, Jesus says of the life of faith in action: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). To be welcomed as a stranger is to receive the gift of hospitality, which at a human and individual level breaks down walls between culture in a far more satisfying way that economic globalization; it preserves each person’s identity, and values them, but allows for interaction as people in a shared world.
I reflect on the welcome we have received as strangers in what is, to us, a strange land. It is more than just the warm and caring welcome of the V.I.I.S. staff and organizers, more than just the welcome from the kitchen staff and other guests and volunteers with the advocacy office in the hostel. It is also the kindness and warmth that has been directed to me, and to all of us, from countless strangers in so many different places.
I think we have all been conditioned to be cautious and careful in travelling – make sure your money is in a safe place in crowds, watch out for thieves and pickpockets, be careful of people who will take advantage of you, scam you or rip you off in transactions, lead you astray – that we may all be a little on edge, distrustful of almost anyone we don’t know. But so far we have experienced none of that. In fact, it has been just the opposite. From the welcome of colleagues at VIIS and SVYM to conversations with welcoming strangers at a wedding; from directions to a store I am trying to locate to directions to the washroom; from suggestions to instructions, to the Air India ticket agent who arranged to have coffee brought to this stranger, twice, who had travelled from Mysore, and was waiting for tickets to be re-booked (if only the ticket process worked as efficiently as the coffee process) – I have experienced a thousand little acts of kindness, care, welcome and hospitality by Indians, as the stranger in their midst.
I am definitely the stranger, wandering not completely lost but certainly in unfamiliar territory, and while the territory is unfamiliar, the customs new, the practices and processes sometimes beyond my grasp, the smiles of welcome, the open and engaging people, those I have met and worked with and those on the street who engage me only for a few moments, have been warm.
I remember time spent in Japan, a different but equally foreign experience for me. What I and my family remember above all else is the warm generosity and welcoming hospitality of the Japanese people, including those I worked with at the University and those we met in the local park and playground. It was that welcoming spirit that made it hard to leave Japan at the end of our stay. Only a month into my time in India now, already I can affirm that here, too, it is the people – those who are interested, welcoming, caring, kind and hospitable in ways large and small – who will create in me lasting memories of a warm country when I eventually leave for my home in this global village in which we all live.
Among other things, this trip affirms for me that there is in the human spirit, everywhere, an essential goodness, that humanity in the global village, though different in appearance and language, in manners and cultural forms, that humanity is still essentially good, essentially interested in one another, and at an individual level, can be welcoming and kind. I think there are two tasks for us: one is to seek it out, and believe in it, and without losing our caution against the potential for evil, to see affirmatively the even greater potential for good. And the other task is to bring that goodness, that hospitality of spirit, that welcome and care of the stranger, to the global and international level. This is a force that even economics cannot put a price on, nor diminish.
In his best-selling analysis of the changing global economy, The Earth is Flat, author Thomas Friedman analyzes the changing shifts of the world in terms of globalization, exploring particularly the role of computer technology in shifting the way the world runs. In an subsequent work, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, he looks at the social and human dimensions of globalization, particularly the tension between the drive for economic advancement at national and personal levels and the longing to hold on to traditions, ways and practices, that shape a national culture and identity. He writes, “globalization is not simply a trend or fad but is, rather, an international system. It is the system that has replaced the old Cold War system, and, like that Cold War System, globalization has its own rules and logic that today directly or indirectly influence the politics, environment, geopolitics and economics of virtually every country in the world.”
In travelling India, one can see the effects of economic globalization in social and cultural forms. Familiar corporate names and products are everywhere, from cars (Hyundai, Suzuki, Volkswagen), to personal care items (Colgate toothpaste, Dove soap), and the list goes on. One can eat at McDonald’s in India (although no beef is served, and the options are veggie burger and chicken burger, which comes in spicy and really spicy), or at Domino’s Pizza (again, with a veg and non-veg option), and of course the ubiquitous Coca-Cola can be bought almost anywhere – in fact, it seems most bottled beverages, including water, are licensed under this company. In Canada, of course, we can usually find access to an array of goods from overseas, including India, and so items purchased here are no longer so unique or “foreign” in a world that knows so much about different cultures. The Indian chain of clothing stores, FabIndia, with an outlet in Mysore, also has a web site, and ships internationally, so nothing is really out of reach for those with money.
Perhaps that is one of many troubling aspects of globalization, the homogenizing of the world in some ways. Cultures are under assault, as are languages, and the uniqueness of peoples, languages, cultures, practices, dress, seems to be disappearing.
There is perhaps one positive to this growing globalization, however, although perhaps it existed before we began using this phrase in the 1990s, and perhaps there have always been elements of it present. I speak here of the acceptance, and welcome, of one who is obviously a stranger, and I have been the recipient of this acceptance and welcome often while in India.
The biblical injunction in the book of Deuteronomy reminds the Israelites, as they set out the laws concerning life in the new land, that they must care for the stranger (i.e., foreigner) in their midst: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:19). Likewise, Jesus says of the life of faith in action: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). To be welcomed as a stranger is to receive the gift of hospitality, which at a human and individual level breaks down walls between culture in a far more satisfying way that economic globalization; it preserves each person’s identity, and values them, but allows for interaction as people in a shared world.
I reflect on the welcome we have received as strangers in what is, to us, a strange land. It is more than just the warm and caring welcome of the V.I.I.S. staff and organizers, more than just the welcome from the kitchen staff and other guests and volunteers with the advocacy office in the hostel. It is also the kindness and warmth that has been directed to me, and to all of us, from countless strangers in so many different places.
I think we have all been conditioned to be cautious and careful in travelling – make sure your money is in a safe place in crowds, watch out for thieves and pickpockets, be careful of people who will take advantage of you, scam you or rip you off in transactions, lead you astray – that we may all be a little on edge, distrustful of almost anyone we don’t know. But so far we have experienced none of that. In fact, it has been just the opposite. From the welcome of colleagues at VIIS and SVYM to conversations with welcoming strangers at a wedding; from directions to a store I am trying to locate to directions to the washroom; from suggestions to instructions, to the Air India ticket agent who arranged to have coffee brought to this stranger, twice, who had travelled from Mysore, and was waiting for tickets to be re-booked (if only the ticket process worked as efficiently as the coffee process) – I have experienced a thousand little acts of kindness, care, welcome and hospitality by Indians, as the stranger in their midst.
I am definitely the stranger, wandering not completely lost but certainly in unfamiliar territory, and while the territory is unfamiliar, the customs new, the practices and processes sometimes beyond my grasp, the smiles of welcome, the open and engaging people, those I have met and worked with and those on the street who engage me only for a few moments, have been warm.
I remember time spent in Japan, a different but equally foreign experience for me. What I and my family remember above all else is the warm generosity and welcoming hospitality of the Japanese people, including those I worked with at the University and those we met in the local park and playground. It was that welcoming spirit that made it hard to leave Japan at the end of our stay. Only a month into my time in India now, already I can affirm that here, too, it is the people – those who are interested, welcoming, caring, kind and hospitable in ways large and small – who will create in me lasting memories of a warm country when I eventually leave for my home in this global village in which we all live.
Among other things, this trip affirms for me that there is in the human spirit, everywhere, an essential goodness, that humanity in the global village, though different in appearance and language, in manners and cultural forms, that humanity is still essentially good, essentially interested in one another, and at an individual level, can be welcoming and kind. I think there are two tasks for us: one is to seek it out, and believe in it, and without losing our caution against the potential for evil, to see affirmatively the even greater potential for good. And the other task is to bring that goodness, that hospitality of spirit, that welcome and care of the stranger, to the global and international level. This is a force that even economics cannot put a price on, nor diminish.
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