life :: articles | biography | essays | media | questions
 |
 |
september 27, 2002
Hey Jet,
I'm Gershom Benavidez from San Diego California. I'm a very big fan of yours and am happy to tell you that your forum on the site has more than 1000 users! I know that tensions between the United States and China are somewhat increasing because of Taiwan and the Spy plane incident. Since you are from China and a respected international figure you have a great influence in China and the United States. I would like to ask you a question. If you were asked to be an ambassador between the two countries (China and USA) , would you feel that you have the knowledge necessary to improve relations?
Thanks,
Gershom Benavidez
Jet's Response:
I think improving relations between the two countries, or any two groups of people, really comes down to a question of Yin and Yang -- a question of balance.
If Yin doesn't care about or care to understand Yang and vice versa then there will be problems. But if both sides spend time learning about the other, and attempt to understand the other, then they will come to recognize the aspects of each that are different, which can lead to an understanding of how to resolve those differences. When one side learns about the other they learn how to interact with the other and can create a balance between the two.
Of course, even if each side completely learns the other side -- the other culture -- they are still different; there will still be points in which they don't agree. But by educating themselves on the differences and working to understand them, they can balance them out over time.
For example, Chinese people have come to appreciate some western food. They like hamburgers or coca cola or pizza ... but they can't have it every meal or every week. The same for Americans. They like Chinese food too, but not for every single meal, 7 days a week. But every once in a while the typical Chinese will eat American food, or the typical American will eat Chinese food, and they'll think it is very delicious. They won't completely change their lifestyle, but they can learn about and respect the other's tastes.
Likewise, as countries and cultures, we can learn to respect and appreciate each other's culture and thinking and develop an understanding of how to make things work between both sides ... to maintain a balance.
