Proud to be an American

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Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into the office as the 44th President of the United States of America. Today. January 20, 2009...

What would Martin Luther King, Jr. say today if he were alive? He would have been 80 years old on January 15, 2009 (five days ago, which happens to be my own birthday). Did he, in his wildest of dreams, dream that a black man would become the president of this great nation only 45 years after he gave that extraordinary speech (8/28/1963) in Washington D.C.? Obama was only 2 years old when MLK spoke those unforgettable words. Who could have imagined?

I became a citizen of the United States on December 17, 1981, one month before I turned 18. I saw a news clip earlier today, wherein a woman (naturalized citizen) stated that she actually felt like an American today. As I listened, I heard myself muttering, "Yes... me too."

Strange but true... I never realized until now that even with my citizenship, I had felt like a stranger in a foreign land all along. When the woman made that remark, it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks that yes, I am every bit a citizen of this nation. I belong here. I am a part of everything that makes this country great, and I am also a part of all the blemishes that it may have. I am not an outsider looking in but a person (albeit very small) who represents what we stand for... what we fight for. And I took part in the making of this day.

Why not until now? I'm not exactly sure; but at last, I genuinely feel it. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. It is truly an honor and a privilege... not to be taken for granted.

Humanity - Our need for opposing views

Chinese characters are a large part of the Korean culture. When I was growing up in Korea, students began learning the Chinese characters in middle school, as it is an extremely complex form of writing. My family moved to the United States just before I entered middle school, and I never had the opportunity to learn more than the very basic. Now as an adult and perhpas because my dominant function is "N" (iNtuition), I am fascinated by the Chinese language, as well as other ancient languages, such as Latin, Greek, Hebrew... They are so very rich in history and meaning beyond what is apparent and obvious.


This is the Chinese character for man...as in human. It looks like two sticks leaning up against each other. It evolved from the original symbol which used to resemble a stick figure of a man. The portion that made up the lower body is the character you see today. The Chinese characters are used by many Asian cultures in their written language in addition to their own. When a word needs clarification in meaning, they refer to the Chinese characters.

The Japanese culture highly values teamwork and cooperation more so than any other Asian culture that I know of. The Japanese children are taught this character with the explanation that no man can stand on his own without the support of other human beings. People need to lean on and support each other, just as the two sticks support each other in this character for the word human.

As I was reading a favorite controversial blog this morning (the subject is irrelevant here), something dawned on me. I began to ponder about our need for opposition. Perhaps what makes us strong and what plays a crucial role in supporting us does not always come from the same side. The two sticks stand and lean against each other from opposite sides. They cannot support each other from the same side. Both would fall.

What provides us with balance, harmony, and growth may come from places completely unexpected. It may be the thing that we fight to get rid of, the thing that we kick and scream against, the thing that is the thorn in our side that actually helps us to thrive.

Something to think about...

Type and Culture

I have been fascinated by cultural differences in behaviors, as I, myself, am bi-cultural. I know first-hand that there are definite differences in the over-all cultural persona, for lack of a better word. I will be working with a group of couples in inter-cultural marriages (Korean wives with American husbands) this weekend, so I've been doing some research.

I found the following information in one of CPP's reference materials, "Type and Culture":

The booklet looks at two models of cultural differences:

1) GLOBE/Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture, based on information from the book, Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies (2004) (Yikes!!.. $135 for the book??? I'll just take their word for it...)

2) Trompenaars' Seven Factors of Culture, based on information from the book, Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Global Business (1997)

You may be yawning by now, but bear with me...

The GLOBE/Hofstede's model deals with nine dimensions of culture (started out with five, but the added four more after additional research):

1) Power Distance - The extent to which a community accepts and endorses authority, power, differences, and status privileges

2) and 3) Collectivism - The extent to which a culture encourages and rewards collective distribution of resources and collective action.

4) Uncertainty Avoidance - The degree to which members of a culture seek orderliness, consistency, structure, formalized procedures, and laws to address situations that arise in their daily lives.

5) Assertiveness - The degree to which people are or are not encouraged to be assertive, aggressive, and tough in social relationships.

6) Gender Egalitarianism - The degree to which a society minimizes gender role differences while promoting gender equality.

7) Performance Orientation - The degree to which a culture judges individuals by their performance or achievement.

8) Future Orientation - The degree to which a culture encourages and rewards future-oriented behaviors such as planning and delaying gratification.

9) Humane Orientation - The extent to which a culture encourages individuals to be fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kind to others.

Still there? Okay... now, here are the factors from the Trompenaars' Seven Factors of Culture:

1) Universalist vs. Particularist - Does the culture emphasize rules or relationships?

2) Individualist vs. Collectivist - Do people regard themselves primarily as individuals or primarily as part of a group?

3) Neutral vs. Affective - Do people conceal or express their emotions?

4) Specific vs. Diffuse - Do people become involved with or involve others?

5) Achievement vs. Ascription - By what criteria do people accord status?

6) Sequential vs. Synchronic - How does the culture approach time management?

7) Internal vs. External Control - What is the culture's relationship with nature?

Those are the studies that the MBTI people looked at. Based on the information given in the book, I came up with the following conclusions:

United States: ESTJ
United Kingdom: ESTJ
India: INFP
South Korea: ISFJ

and a wild guess (not enough data in the book) at European countries such as Italy, France, and Spain: ESFP

I also found this study of the way students from different cultural backgrounds use email to communicate with other students. Fascinating...