Destiny and Personal Responsibility
One important variable affecting communication across cultures is destiny（命运）and personal responsibility. This refers to the degree to which we feel ourselves the masters of our lives, contrary to the degree to which we see ourselves as subject to things outside our control. Another way to look at this is to ask how much we see ourselves able to change and act, to choose the course of our lives and relationships. Some have drawn a parallel between the personal responsibility in North American settings and the view itself. The North American view is vast, with large spaces of unpopulated land. The frontier attitude of “King” of the wilderness, and the expansiveness of the land reaching huge distances, may relate to generally high levels of confidence in the ability to shape and choose our destinies.
In this expansive land, many children grow up with a heroic sense of life, where ideas are big, and hope springs forever. When they experience temporary failures, they encouraged to redouble their efforts, to “try, try again.” Action, efficiency（效率）, and achievement are valued and expected. Free will is respected in laws and enforced by courts.
Now consider places in the world with much smaller land, whose history reflects wars and tough struggles: Northern Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Palestine. In these places, destiny’s role is more important in human life. In Mexico, there is a history of hard life, fighting over land, and loss of homes. Mexicans are more likely to see struggles as part of their life and unavoidable. Their passive attitude is expr4essed in their way of responding to failure or accident by saying “ni modo”(“no way” or “tough lick”), meaning that the failure was destined.
This variable is important to understanding cultural conflict. If someone believing in free will crosses paths with someone more passive, miscommunication is likely. The first person may expect action and accountability. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the second is lazy, not cooperative, or dishonest. The second person will expect respect for the natural order of thins. Failing to see it, he may conclude that the first is forcible, rude, or big headed in his ideas of what can be accomplished or changed.
小题1:The author thinks that one’s character is partly determined by .| A．physical senses | B．general attitude | | C．financial background | D．geographic characteristics |
小题2:According to the passage, Mexicans would think that Americans are .| A．impractical | B．dishonest | C．ambitious | D．hesitant |
小题3:The underlined word “subject” in Paragraph 1 probably means .| A．a topic of a discussion | B．a branch of knowledge | | C．a person being experimented on | D．a person under the power of others |
小题4:The author would probably agree that .| A．vast land may lead to a more controllable desire | | B．heroic sense of life roots deeply in a small country | | C．living in limited space contributes to an accepting attitude | | D．fighting over land may help people gain high levels of confidence |
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