Like other symbolic dates, different initiatives were carried out with the respective political and religious speeches and messages calling for tolerance, dialogue and multicultural inclusion. However, at the same time, we were also watching in different parts of the planet where intolerance and disrespect for human life could reach. This bipolarity between words and actions has influenced our ability to think and solidify what we really want to leave for our descendants.
We have all realized that cultural beliefs are passed on from generation to generation, they are our cultural DNA and this, like our biological DNA, contains unique information and dispositions. It serves to differentiate us from each other, to make different and more valuable contributions to a richer society, it also serves to teach and learn new ways of solving a problem and looking at the same reality.
So, why do we agree that “tastes are not discussed” and we allow cultures to be discussed?
Each of us in the communities in which we operate can make all the difference. Tolerating, listening and knowing other beliefs, other habits and a different culture is wisdom, it is growth, it is above all respect for others.
Understanding does not mean agreeing. Understanding means integrating difference, expanding knowledge and sharing a space of coexistence without complexes of superiority or inferiority. Because it is these complexes that trigger the perpetuation of account adjustments with the historical past, and that do not allow to heal the present and build a more peaceful future.
Convergence and cultural integration begin with each one of us. It is open-mindedness and adaptability that distinguish us as human beings, are the engine of our learning and that give meaning to our social and emotional intelligence. We can always learn that no story has only one side, and that the beauty and magic of life involves looking at reality through different filters.
That is why it is so important that neither tastes nor cultures are discussed.
