Yes! We can ..!

Globalization is a phenomenon that touches our day-today lives on a daily basis and yet I never exactly gave it much thought in what it really means to the future of people! This class gives us an excellent opportunity to put it all in perspective.

I was thinking about globalization and our exercise in which we picked it's pros and the cons. I began to think how many of those really affected me when I landed in America at the age of 20. I believe coming to America made me the person I am today. Globesmart survey correctly assessed mine to be a hybrid American-South Asian personality. Here in America, I learned a lot about other cultures, developed curiosity as well as respect. Funny enough, I learned to appreciate my own culture in the process too! Globalization clearly had a positive impact on me.

For others, globalization may mean something different. A debate often rages in a business investment group that I am a part of. It is about the economic downturn and the role that globalization has played in it. The anti-group blames foreigners for taking away the jobs from the local workforce. The pro-group vehemently argues that foreigners deserve these jobs if they do work harder and smarter than the local workforce! The anti group strongly believes that it is their right to keep the jobs in the country where they are born to which the pro group argues that a job shouldn't be given to you based on where you were born but what you deserve. Having lived more than 1/3rd of my life away from my home country, I can truly empathize with both sides.

As you may agree, world indeed has become smaller. You no longer have to leave you country to be greeted by different cultures. With the invent of new technology, or because you are in a land of opportunities, several different cultures come to greet you on a daily basis. Believe it or not, we are all getting exposed to globalization. Having a fulfilling and successful life in such an environment despite our traditions and deeply rooted cultures, is an interesting challenge.

But then we as humans have overcome several challenges in our evolution period, haven't we!. There was a time when people believed that killing other men gave them the power. The muscle power ruled the brain power. There was a time men and women did not have equal rights. There was a time when it was believed that one human race was superior than the other. But over time, we adjusted to and conquered challenges after challenges and continue to do so.

Globalization is one of such challenges. Thinking global can simply mean treating everyone fairly. It can mean that the right by merit over-power the right by nationality, origin or birth. The election of the current president of USA is a testament to the shift in people's thinking (keeping the political views out of this).

To turn this challenge in our own favor at the personal level, we need to believe that we are the responsible global citizens. We should not treat each other as Americans, Indians, Chinese etc but as fellow global citizens. It is a huge shift in our thinking. It's an intimidating thought to think whether with so many different cultures, personalities, boundaries, conflicts, can we all really get along? Well, if you think 'Globalle' , then YES! We can ...!