Deep in the roots of the African culture is the default setting for respect that can never be compromised, which supposes that respect is the statutory duty of the young towards the old. This statutory duty confered upon the young created a strong power chasm between the two, which is almost impossible to break. This divide does not just exist between adults and children, it is also between men and women, which has given rise to several schools of thoughts such as individualism, feminism, and the likes, especially, from the Western world.
In the predominant Western cultures, respect is rather a traded commodity that must earned and never deserved unless the transaction is complete leading the contraptions like:
"You must earn my respect."
"Respect is reciprocal"
Each of these contraptions defies the fundamental African culture, which has led to the invention of technology, the melting pot ideology, and most profoundly, globalization. While it may suggest that these developments are good for the common man, it must also be seen from the point that must help us prove that, "the means justifies the end" never "the end justifies the means."
The Comparisons
In the Western culture, there is nothing wrong in the young calling the old by their first names, while in the African setting, it is a taboo sort of. Also, they do not see anything wrong in the older greeting the younger first, while in the African culture is an act of disrespect, to mention just a few.
We are geared up to face the greatest challenge in history of human culture contest where there is a clash of interests between the African and Western cultures mixed in cup and served as a drink for all to have a sip. What's the taste like in your mouth?
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