On a typical morning, I wake up and go to a yoga class. After stretching to poses like parsva dandasana and sleeping child, I go to the café and get a Mayan mocha, a drink that originated in Mexico. Later that night I would eat ethnic food from a foreign restaurant. A day such as that would not exist without the cultural influences that are available in society. Every year I find myself more and more influenced by different cultures. A larger amount of cultural ideas and ways of life are available to others. Restaurants, exercising and dance classes are accessible to individuals. There are ethnic restaurants, Yoga, Tango, and a number of other things that originated in one society and made its way to another part of the world. Culture influences are becoming stronger all over the world, causing people to refer to it as globalizing. With such a mass spreading of cultures it has turned into a negative advancement. Globalization, increasing more rapidly then ever, is resulting inevitably in a universal culture.
The spreading of cultural trends has been happening for centuries, it is only now, with the increasing spread of more and different ideas, that it has become globalization. In ancient times empires, such as Egypt, would trade with their neighboring societies. The trade of jewelry, silks, and dances were quite common. Even slaves were traded with the useful purposes of having different cultural knowledge, such as architecture and medical treatments. These were the ways people globalize, even when the term never existed, or was a threat to them. Globalization is not a new custom or thought, but it is a new and big obstacle.
The last thirty years have had an increase in globalizing, in the past there was never this problem. Mass globalization has come to the beginning of creating a universal culture. Cultural influences are not happening just in major cities, but in the suburbs as well. Different aspects of cultures are not added just for the benefit of those of different ethnicity. Before it was just a exchange of trends and ideas, now it is an exchange of the entire civilization. Traditions along with customs are being spread from nation to nation. Halloween, for example, used to be a holiday celebrated only in the united states. Now it is celebrated in small parts of France and is known in other societies.
In my Sophomore year of high school, I was learning about French Christmas traditions. Madame Hamidie, my French teacher, was explaining to us about Pere Noel and Pere Fouettard. My eyes widened as I questioned Incredulously, “They believe in Santa, too?” I was surprised that we shared such a cultural similarity. Through stereotypes, I thought that societies were completely different, not parallel like they truly are.
My family has ended up adopting many international ideas. During Christmas mu family hides a pickle ornament in the tree, and whoever finds the ornament wins a prize, such as a candy bar or lottery ticket. This originated in Germany and has made its way into American traditions. My family has no Germanic ancestry or connections. None of my immediate family has even visited the country.
Another tradition or a superstition, my family has obtained is looking in a person’s eye when toasting. If you do not look he or she directly in the eye, you will have bad sex for seven years. This is a well known superstition in Europe, and it has make its way around the world to America. This proves that globalization is causing the world to have a universal culture.
Globalization has spread and is not leaving anyplace untouched. Parts of Africa have a staggering amount of new technological equipment and advancement, such as cable T.V. Instead of spending time with their families and continuing customs that have been passed down to them from generation to generation, some people are sitting in front of the television. There are spreading of ideas to industrial nations as well as unindustrialized nations.
Solving the complications of Globalization cannot be done easily, but with the help of slowing it down, things will become better. Getting rid of supermarkets in places, such as Germany, where they are not wanted will improve things bit by bit. Keeping certain customs from disappearing will help to protect the different cultures as well.
Tai Chi use to have a different meaning in the U.S. then it did in china. It use to be used as only a form of exercise, a way to become less fatigued, or for people to just try something new and exciting. In China it has always held a spiritual meaning. Tai Chi reflects their culture, while the U.S shapes it into something that reflects American culture. Now though, it is used in the United States as a way to embody the mind and spirit. Our cultures are mixing, and thus forming a universal type world.
Globalization is expanding as the years go on, and it is becoming a spread of customs as well as a spread of trends. Today, nations are sharing fashion styles and entertainment ideas. Traditions and beliefs are becoming similar from nation to nation. This results in the societies and their cultures into becoming one. A one-world culture would ideally make everyone more accepting of others, but that would not always be the case. People will always be discriminating against others for something. In a universal culture it might be the person’s ethnicity, even though they would share a same culture.
People now have the opportunity to experience and incorporate other cultures into their lives, but the price for that is a universal culture. Years ago no one celebrated Halloween except for those in the United States. Nowadays people in different nations, such as France, celebrate it as well. Larger varieties of foreign restaurants are entering and becoming available to the public, while technological advances and ideas are spreading like wild fire. Customs are becoming so similar, that at times it is hard to differentiate one from another. If nothing is done, societies will lose their unique variations, and ultimately their identity.
