Thursday, March 3, 2011

Breaking Away from We and They

I was at a seminar today about managing conflict with different cultures.   The presenter started by breaking us up in two groups and having us discuss a poem.   I particularly liked ours:

...All good people agree,

And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They;
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!

-Rudyard Kipling

Usually people are only a they because you haven't met them.   Once you learn more and expand your surroundings, you find a common ground and "they" become part of "we"...or vice versa.  

The other group had the following quote.  I can't find the author.  It's all about perspective:

It’s funny.
The French call this un couteau.
The Germans call it ein messer.
And we call it a knife – which it is!

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