East or West, What's Best?

#33    Looks like you got the picture, @Javier 🐝 CR Interesting goal to get everyone to embrace our differences and stop bombing each other. 

Let's see if I understood anything:

The world we live in is a fascinating place, with diverse cultures, beliefs, and philosophies that have developed over centuries. As we stand on a mountaintop and look out at the East and West, we can see both similarities and differences. In terms of philosophy and culture, there are significant differences between the East and West, but perhaps there are also lessons to be learned on both sides of the divide.

Western philosophy is rooted in science and rationale, with heavy use of logic, reasoning, and categorization, focusing on parts rather than the whole. It is individually oriented, with the self at the center, and has materialistic goals. Western philosophy strives to find and prove the truth by analysis and emphasizes individual rights.

Eastern philosophy, on the other hand, has its roots in religion and does not distinguish between philosophy and religion, unifying ideas into a greater whole. It is group and society-oriented, looking at the bigger picture, with the individual as a small part of a greater ideal. Eastern philosophy strives for harmony with an inherent acceptance and without a need to prove. It emphasizes social responsibility and has spiritual goals.

Given these differences, there are interesting and attractive benefits associated with Eastern attitudes of harmony rather than conflict, society rather than self, and the setting of spiritual rather than materialistic goals. However, it is also essential to acknowledge the benefits of Western society from an Eastern perspective. Perhaps the West has merely corrupted Eastern minds into seeking an individual materialist middle-class existence, with all its throw-away toys, pollutants, and self-indulgence.

As we ponder these differences, we must ask ourselves where we are heading as individuals and as a society. Are we heading towards a melting pot or off in different directions? Are we living in fortresses or communes? Do we shoulder social responsibility or walk the path of self-advancement? Do we have the luxury of choice, or are we forced to carry water on our heads for kilometers from the nearest well? Are we bored of home-cooked meals and eat out to break the monotony, or are we happy to eat the same meager staple diet day in and day out?

It is essential to acknowledge that there are stark differences between the East and West, and there are valuable lessons to be learned on both sides of the divide. As we move forward as a global society, we must strive to find a balance between individualism and collectivism, materialism and spirituality, and self-advancement and social responsibility. Only by acknowledging and embracing our differences can we learn from one another and work towards a brighter future for all.

#29 Oh wow. I did not know this. It would be amazing you went down memory lane and wrote about those days. I'm sure I would love to read it. You should come to Dubai now, and visit the Museum of the FUTUE. What lofty plans the rulers have and they are transforming the country. The place has its pros and cons but it is by far the best country in terms of value for the services provided if you know how to market yourself well and the place where you get the value for the money you spend. Rich get richer and poor remain poorer. But it's only the ones that know how to provide valuable services and has talent can rise very quickly to the top.  And @Ken Boddie  where in Australia are you ( please DM the answer for privacy concerns) , I'm visiting Perth for Christmas : 🤶 🎅 🎄 😃 

Post Note - Sorry for the late reply I have been busy competing to become the next India's Leading Super Speaker currently in the top 250 from 2,11,520 registrations 

#7 I hear you @Javier 🐝 CR and have always, will always support you since our beBee days. I just missed some of the most valuable comments on the comments box - because that's where the real conversation happens. I sometimes go back to posts 5 years old to remininse. I guess it would have been nice to email the users before the terminate account decision was taken but then again it's in the past -  done and dusted. No problemo I will try too drag Savvy back here sometime soon. 

PS @Ken Boddie I just spurted out my coffee 🤣 Because the minute I think about driving the wrong way up a busy one-way street Dubai will fine me or probably throw me in jail - Fine is upto 3000 dirhams or more like 500 to 800 dollars - Thankfully I don't drive in Dubai YET. 

#26  @Lisa Vanderburg 

I don’t know about “taming” my cousins ‘up over’, your Grace, but I wouldn’t be a leader in Londinium, the noo, for quids. Seems to me you’ve caught that Aussie poli syndrome … the prime ministerial revolving door. BTW here’s a tip from one ‘ashes‘ nation to another. If you want old Rishi to last more than a few weeks, make sure he wears a pair of big gloves. That way you know you’ve got a ‘keeper’. 😂🤣😂

Damn…I've forgotten how to work this. @Ken Boddie …(that was an accident)!

But, when I read those: 'Are my biceps toned?

Are my children dying of curable diseases?'

I knew where I was! Great to see you, King of Kaleidoscopes! So wonderful to see you're still taming us palid northerners! 

nothing new on the western front springs to mind for some reason 

#18 Absolutely, planned communication before, during, and after is what was and is needed to better manage change. In the US, not all those in leadership positions were and are on the same page which further widens the gap evoking fear and rebellion. Countries need good leadership and not politicians. 

Thanks, @Lada 🏡 Prkic , @Franci 🐝Eugenia Hoffman and @Javier 🐝 CR for contributing your observations and interpretation to the East vs West conundrum, and to Franci for providing a succinct summary in #17. Javier’s comment in #16, on the success of some Asian countries in controlling the epidemic, got me thinking about Australia. Here, our strict border controls, enforced home and other quarantines, high levels of vaccination and mask wearing, were successfully adopted by the majority, despite our natural kick-back, as an individualistic nation, against what could be perceived by some as enforced indoctrination. What undoubtedly assisted in getting most of the people of Oz to eventually accept the need to act for the greater good, was the increased level of communication to manage the essential changes. We had regular (at least twice a day) advice and explanation from our various state and federal medical officers and selected specialist epidemiologists on our TVs and radios. Perhaps this planned communication, before, during and after, is a takeaway lesson for our business communities and enterprises, worldwide, to better manage change?

@Lada 🏡 Prkic and @Ken Boddie -Lada - I agree the melting pot should be about embracing multiculturalism, and also (Ken) I agree that diversity and sustainability are no longer mere benefits of successful species growth, but requirements for our survival.

I see the problem being is there is no transparency and people are not being brought along. Change just happens with no explanation and sometimes no rationale. Sorry to say, but much of the human race is ignorant and become rebellious, also with no common sense or rationale. It's a vicious cycle. Generations of mindsets are not going to change overnight and I agree with @Javier 🐝 CR's comment “In contrast, in a country that values individualism, people tend to worry more about how the crisis will affect their professional and personal development."

And @Ken Boddie nailed it with “Herein lies the challenge, as change sometimes requires tough decisions to be made and, as has been stated many times before, we can only make some of the people happy some of the time, and there's little likelihood of keeping all of the people happy all of the time”

This is a great discussion and thank you, Ken, for bringing your 2016 article back to life.

The fact that the East, in general, tends to favor the community over the individual and to value the collective over the particular may have helped countries such as China, South Korea and Japan to respond more effectively to the pandemic than Western countries, where the triumph of individual freedoms and individual liberties may be overrated.

Distancing as a restriction of rights
As part of this individualism-collectivism dichotomy, social distancing and prosocial attitudes have been perceived differently in the East and the West. In the West, strict measures of social distancing have sometimes been perceived as a restriction of people's rights and freedoms.

In Asian culture, people tend to see themselves as part of a group. They are willing to sacrifice their individual and personal benefits for the welfare of the group. There, group collaboration is of utmost importance to achieve certain goals and objectives. In contrast, in a country that values individualism, people tend to worry more about how the crisis will affect their professional and personal development, for example.

I believe we are heading towards a melting pot. But the question is how we understand it. Is a melting pot understood as merging but not losing identity and cultural tradition, or is it, in fact, assimilation? 
For me, the melting pot should be about embracing multiculturalism. But many in the west fear that the Western way may disappear by embracing different cultural values, traditions, and lifestyles. 

@Javier 🐝 CR - follow your dreams and keep on keepin' on.

I've noticed a lull in several sm sites including WordPress. Personally, this crazy world is distracting and I find it difficult to focus. I still write poetry on WordPress because it eases my mind. No politics and no religion - just poems. 

Things change and people change and as we all know, change will always be. beBee and WordPress will always be my favorite sites. LI is dull and full of political junk and I don't frequent other sm sites except for Twitter, which I use only to promote my blog. I enjoy Poetry sites such as PoetrySoup and Spillwords Press, again to promote my poetry.

So rock on, BeBee!

“The most dangerous phrase in the language is, “We’ve always done it this way!” Grace Hopper

What is East or West home is the best? => Home is the best or most ideal place to be, regardless of its physical location

I hear you @Ken Boddie those were golden days of pure conversations.I think many amazing people left for many of the known reasons. I myself could not log onto the platform for a very long-time and have lost many of the valuable comments on some of blog posts and if you remember @savvy raj her account does not even exist now. We had met in Dubai this year and were reminiscing about the good old days. I now only visit once in a blue moon to read whenever I can and catch up with some of my favourites writers such as like yourself. As for East vs West, I agree that some of us are now capable of learning and thinking lol. 😆 It all boils down to the choices we make and to ensure we don't fall into the trap of conformity. 

#3 #1

@Jerry Fletcher and @Renée  🐝 Cormier I see that you both also lament the old days when this platform was new and when intensive interaction clearly separated us from the other SM platforms. I wonder why so many former active participants disappeared? Was it frustration with requested changes either not being addressed or taking too long, was it the rise of alternative platforms, or was it the increased distractions of changing times, whereby our attention spans have been diminished and information overload has decreased our capability, or even willingness, to read and then comment? As for East vs West, I like to think we are capable of absorbing the best of both philosophies without coming to blows. 

Thank you for reposting this!  I appreciate your perspective and considered thoughts.

Ken, I, too miss the days when this site was rife with convivial commentary.