Disadvantages Of Cultural Awareness

As defined in one of the articles studied, cultural awareness is considered “...the foundation of communication and it involved the ability of standing back from ourselves and becoming aware of our cultural values, beliefs, and perceptions” (Cantatore and Quappe). Once we are self-aware of our own culture, we are challenged with the task of interacting with others. As no two cultures are alike, it is our duty to separate our personal biases when trying to make sense of the actions of others (Cantatore and Quappe). This practice is often easier said than done; it can take years for us to condition ourselves to the level of cultural awareness that allows us to empathize with and respect those different than us. Though being culturally aware is

Take my friend John Doe for example. A rather difficult interviewee, he claimed that “... [he] did not partake in any activity inspired by his culture, he did not value his cultural identity, he is generally uninspired by cultural experiences…” (Valverde-Rivera 2). While we may not value our cultural identity to the same degree, the trends of John Doe were no different than mine; they were unique to him and, ultimately, offered him several different advantages and disadvantages. Though we all are at different paths in our journey to cultural nirvana, it is beneficial to allow ourselves to make mistakes, learn from our own actions, and also the actions of

Though we may feel that we are as culturally aware as we can be, we must always remember that we, as human beings, are bound to make mistakes and deviate from the levels of near-perfection that we establish when being culturally sensitive. However ideal the concept of full cultural awareness may be, we have to come to the realization that it is not truly achievable among individuals and populations. In order to successfully learn and grow our cultural awareness, we must be patient with ourselves and others, as we are all just trying to complete our own individual journeys to the cultural