Let me begin my American impressions with two impressions I had before I went to America. One was an incident and the other an idea; and when taken together they illustrate the attitude I mean. The first principle is that nobody should be ashamed of thinking a thing funny because it is foreign; the second is that he should be ashamed of thinking it wrong because it is funny. The reaction of his senses and superficial habits of mind against something new, and to him abnormal, is a perfectly healthy reaction. But the mind which imagines that mere unfamiliarity can possibly prove anything about inferiority is a very inadequate mind. It is inadequate even in criticising things that may really be inferior to the things involved[Pg 3] here. It is far better to laugh at a negro for having a black face than to sneer at him for having a sloping skull. It is proportionally even more preferable to laugh rather than judge in dealing with highly civilised peoples. Therefore I put at the beginning two working examples of what I felt about America before I saw it; the sort of thing that a man has a right to enjoy as a joke, and the sort of thing he has a duty to understand and respect, because it is the explanation of the joke.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27250/27250-h/27250-h.htm#What_is_America
The book, "What I Saw in America" by G.K. Chesterton is about his experience with traveling to America. In the passage above, Chesterton is speaking about the perception and belief he had about America prior to traveling there. He points out how people find humor in the things that other countries find normal and that people should not feel remorseful for wanting to laugh or react to things they are not used to themselves. He believes that instead of people judging others and their customs, it is better to find amusement than to criticize.
I chose this passage because Chesterton pointed out some ideas that I ultimately agreed with. I have not been outside of the country yet but for example, if you are from New York City and you travel to a rural area, you come across people and norms that are totally different from your every day experiences. If you are from the city and travel to a very country area, it seems as though everyone is behind in technology, fashion, trends, etc. It's as if they are stuck in a bubble that has yet to pop. Sometimes these norms can be completely surprising and amusing at the same time. With that being said, Chesterton made an excellent point about how it is "healthy" to react a certain way when a person comes cross something that is "abnormal". Traveling to another country would probably amplify the humor found in people's everyday customs in comparison to America's. Chesterton states that people have a right to enjoy something as a joke but they have to comprehend that the true meaning of the joke has to be respected.
The other side of this idea is people who assume things are wrong because it is unfamiliar to them. I think it relates to why you said about people in rural areas. People here might make fun of "hicks" and "rednecks" but it goes both ways and people sneer at "New York values" or "San Francisco values." So, he does point out the amusement of foreign cultures, but there is a more serious side to it too.
ReplyDeleteThe other side of this idea is people who assume things are wrong because it is unfamiliar to them. I think it relates to why you said about people in rural areas. People here might make fun of "hicks" and "rednecks" but it goes both ways and people sneer at "New York values" or "San Francisco values." So, he does point out the amusement of foreign cultures, but there is a more serious side to it too.
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