Some 200 years ago, our founding fathers wrote that “We

hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created

equal . . .” in the Declaration of Independence. Yet we find
____________________________________________ ways to be different racially, religiously, and linguistically as
SUNDAY MAGAZINE, July 23, 2000 three primary pillars of defining cultures.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One may be happily married to a person who is culturally
different, yet their real differences are not culturally bound if
Cultural Journey with US Forces in they have truly deepened their human ecology as “interbeing.”
Europe, Asia What lies beneath our human affairs are then the realm of
greed and power that separate us culturally to justify our
By Patrick Mendis actions and other human frailties.
Be Our Guest Columnist The question still is: Are we really different?
A
s a graduate faculty member at the University of The widely know notion of “clash of civilizations,” as
Maryland in Europe, I have had the privilege to work with a Harvard University professor Samuel Huntington theorized, is
diverse sample of NATO military officers, clearly a cultural weapon. It is hard to imagine a clash of
federal government employees, and other civilizations between Confucian Asia and Christian Europe.
students in England, Germany, Italy, Spain, More and more, we become interconnected and collaborative
and Turkey. Not only did I have the in search of peace, outer space exploration, and genetic
opportunity to teach economics, government, research as common human enterprises. Yet, our perception
and international relations to these of cultural differences is pervasive. Understanding them is
professionals, I also have learned a great deal from them about surely helpful for the common good.
duty, honor, and service. We need to realize, however, that there is a clear
A year ago, I transferred to Asia to teach our Pacific distinction between values and virtues. Our cultural values are
Command forces in Japan and South Korea. I reflect now on not necessarily human virtues. In America, for example, some
my Asian heritage and the Western outlook. people advocate family values as virtues to separate them from
us or vice versa. Human virtues do not discriminate. As
Born in Sri Lanka, I served as army cadet platoon leader global citizens, we must constantly learn and change with a
and later became the best commander of Sri Lanka. With my high level of cultural literacy and sensitivity. As the rapidly
graduate education in America, I think of myself as a hybrid unfolding information revolution spreads across cultures, we
of Eastern and Western cultures. During my tenure with may have the unprecedented opportunity to learn and to
Maryland, I lived with local people in these European and respect what each culture has to offer.
Asian societies and served as a mentor to a host of American
and foreign students. They have immensely enriched my It is better to find common virtues in other cultures than
cultural appreciation and diversity. imposing one’s value on them. Yet, we must fight against
some cultural traditions, like the female circumcision in Africa
In a global village, we reincarnate more often than we and the new widow committing suicide in India, because these
think. We take one identity and then become another, as an are not human virtues.
adaptive challenge. As a US citizen, I see America as a
collage and a mosaic. We come from diverse backgrounds More human contacts and information exchange between
and become American. and within Eastern and Western societies increase, our mutual
understanding of others goes beyond cultural boundaries.
In our genetic code, there is neither race nor ethnicity. In Clash of cultures may not be a reality if we choose to do our
a recent announcement at the White House, an international duty at hand, honor the country we are privilege to live in, and
group of scientists who mapped the human DNA code reveals to serve others by thinking we are interconnected.
that our DNA does not discriminate by race or ethnicity. As
children of God, we knew this all along. The Bible tell us that It is indeed a great privilege to have worked with our
“There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither defense forces and overseas Americans in Europe and Asia
bound nor free, there can be no male and female: for you all who preserve our democracy and freedom at home and
are one man in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, see also Mark abroad. As a departing Maryland faculty member, it is time to
3:34 and John 15:14-15). say good-bye to those who have enriched my life. But, I now
know better how to appreciate the wonders of democracy and
For those of us who grew up in Asian cultures, we may freedom the military preserves for all of us, even though they
remember what Buddha said: “Just O’monk, as the great rivers are constrained by the regimented chain of command. Hence,
– Ganges, Jamna, Rapti, Gorga, and Mahi (in ancient India) – it is an honorable and virtuous profession because they are
when they fall into the great ocean, renounce their former committed to serve others with sacrifice in various cultures
names and kind, are counted as the mighty sea. Just even so, around the world.
do these four castes – Nobles, Brahmins, traders, and slaves –
when they are gone forth from domestic life into the homeless Patrick Mendis is now in China, teaching at the Northwestern
one, under the Doctrine and Discipline made public by the University in Xi’an as part of the University of Maryland’s
Tatagata (Buddha), renounce their former names and clan.” faculty exchange program. This fall, he joins the US State
Department in Washington, DC.