This paper discusses the similarities and differences of two major world cultures – American and Asian. The motivation of this work lies in the situation in which and through which we are living at present.
Orient and Occident as different worlds of existence and expression, and their relation to each other, have been one of the great themes of historical reflection since the ancient days.A meeting of the different cultural and religious worlds is inevitable. In fact, it has already been on the move for quite a long time. Their mutual influence is one of the conspicuous aspects of the world situation. We can safely assert that this process of mutual influence, interpenetration and permeation is one of the cardinal events of our time.
The comparison and contrast of these two cultures will help to gain better understanding of both.The great deal can be said about the technological and industrial aspects of American civilization. The unprecedented accumulation of material power allowed American society to progress from the status of a colonial rebel to the status of the richest and most powerful state in the world. The development of the USA follows the exact pattern of what has been for millions of individuals, “the American dream”.Though such pattern involved numerous problems such as crudity, vulgarity, exaggeration and distortion it still confirmed and immensely increased man’s confidence in himself, which is now a predominant feature of American culture.
In the sense of formal cultural accomplishment, there are numerous subjects deserving of mention, but they cannot be explored in detail within the limits of this paper.There are new developments, like modern architecture, especially in the larger scale of business and public buildings, which represent a kind of union of art and science, new developments in the fine arts, and even more in the immensely influential popular arts, now called mass media, such as the cinematography, radio, press and advertising. There were the various theologies of religious dissent and there is still a Puritan strain of some strength, though now religion is loosing its force in materially oriented society.In American culture, there are many tendencies, many currents, and many cross-currents, though scientific effectiveness is the spirit that dominates the whole. They know that this is at the basis of American prolific productivity, and in it they sense the source of their strength as a national state.
The hopes and dreams of Americans are usually centered around the raising of living standards. They like to feel they are getting “bigger and better”, and it would be difficult for them to admit that anyone else could really get better results as the consequence there could be a hint of arrogance in the behavior of the Americans.Americans are open and friendly, they are hard and disciplined workers accustomed to planning, but on an individual and competitive more than a collective basis. Most of Americans have an ingrained and powerful feeling that every person should have his rights and his chance in life. To admit that the contrary is the case in America makes Americans so uncomfortable that they have sometimes preferred to deceive themselves on this score.
There is a peculiarly American manifestation of universalism in the fact that there is, among most of American citizens, no consciousness of any barrier in principle to anyone else in the world becoming one of American.The antecedent of American culture, the European culture, took the heritage of Asian civilization as its source of cultural inspiration in early times. Historically Asia was more advanced and it gave the starting point for civilization development which then spread to the West. By contrast the Asia was not interested in the West in the same way; it has not actively sought either to conquer it or to learn from it.As far the culture of Asia is the aggregate of the cultural heritage of many nationalities, peoples and religions it just the same as American culture possesses many tendencies and currents.
It is inappropriate to regard ‘Asia’ as a culturally monolith region, but it is equally important to recognize the common qualities which the Asian nations themselves see as different from Western ones.The fact that educated Asian people often wear Western clothing, speak English, use the same technologies, can easily lead to the assumption that they are becoming ‘westernized’.This surface appearance is misleading. The Japanese, Indian, or Thai in his office at his computer, wearing a Western business suit, speaking English, will be a very different man at home in the evening, in his religious observances, when he contemplates marriage, in his relationship with his family, in his view of the world.
The backbone of the Asian culture was ancient Eastern philosophy and religion.The major religions and philosophies like Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity all played significant role in formation Asian worldview and cultural habits. Thus Confucian filial piety fostered the strong feeling of hierarchy that is completely opposite to American belief in equal opportunities of each individual. Another distinction is that the spiritual values in Asia still are on the first place leaving behind the material ones.In contrast to continuously progressing American culture the Asian nations still remain the supporters of the traditions of the past: hard work, familial connections, respect for learning, acceptance of authoritarian government. Links to the past become all the more important because the new nations of Asia look back beyond the colonial era to their own often legendary and shadowy past for a sense of national identity.
Asian sense of national identity is as clearly defined as the American tendency to universalism. Exactly this national identity of Asian culture is the reason for its closedness for the members of American or other Western societies, which are considered as aliens to Asian people.a
