Thumbs Up

Two facts you may or may not know:

1. Did you know that thumbs up is not always a good thing? In Ghana, for quite some time, it meant $&@/!?#. Who knew?

2. Also, did you know that it is 2014?

What do these two things have to do with one another? Great question. As we have become comfortable with the idea of being 21st century human beings, and with the creation and acquisition of technology, our worlds are colliding.  Which leads me to this question- is globalization all together a good thing?

The US has been free of British rule for 238 years. We do not have British accents, we spell words like 'theater' and 'analyze' correctly (I am joking...kind of), we drive on the right side of the ride, and we use the dollar rather than the pound. Look at us! We are so independent. But how long did it take us to sever ties from England and properly rebel from the mother country? At what point did some amped up farm worker or innovative urban youth come up with the idea of giving the thumbs up as a sign for 'it's all good!'? Surely the British had never done such an unrefined gesture before.

Ghana has been independent from England for 57 years (my dad is older than Ghana!). They still spell words the British way and have traces of British accents when they speak in English.  They only just switched to driving on the right side of the road in 1974. But to them, using the thumbs up sign has only just started to become socially acceptable. So, for all intensive purposes, giving the thumbs up sign is a modern example of globalization (did you follow that logic?).

Giving the thumbs up is, obviously, a ridiculous example of globalization, but an example nonetheless. Other examples of globalization include the sharing of fashion, infusion of food (I have not seen a Starbucks here yet, but if have eaten Ghanaian food in D.C.), the spreading of technology (and not far behind, social media), and infrastructure. Globalization can be a fantastic thing.

But, at what point does globalization cross the line and become bad? Good examples of globalization can be seen in other realms besides iPhones and McDonald's. It is demonstrated in the wave of progressive thought, like that women should be equal. Granted, while American women were burning their bras and demanding equal pay, Ghanaian women were fighting not be 'grabbed' in the market, held hostage in a stranger's house as a sex slave for a week (or until impregnated) and then married to the assaulter. But still, the idea that women are not the inferior sex has spread globally and increased the well being of women in dramatic fashion. This is good globalization.

So, then, what is bad globalization? How about the fact that Ghanaians have been westernizing their culture to the point where local languages, traditions, music, and dance have been all but squelched, much to the dismay of the older generation. Communication and connections that bridged the generational gap for centuries (yes, even during British rule) has almost been completely wiped out since independence. There is value in preserving these things.

Why?

Because if we all blend into one another life is boring. BORING! Everything from music to food to language to culture becomes one big blob of beige. Think about this. No one will want to go somewhere exotic, like Ghana, because everyone will act the same, eat the same, and dress the same.  No one will want to go to Italy anymore for the exquisite pizza and gelato.  No one will want to fly to fashion week in Paris because we will all dress the same.

My point is that globalization can bring good changes, like the spread of ideas and inventions. But it also has the potential to eliminate the aspects of human nature that make people unique and surprising.  More importantly, it may slowly chip away at the cultural binds that have preserved cultures prior to and through colonization.

Hey, I like the idea of someone giving me the thumbs up and it meaning $&@!?. Otherwise, then, it is just another thumbs up and that is boring.