Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
Take the best of American culture but not all of it
Print Edition
DEAR editor,
I am writing this letter in reference to the article “Emulating American lifestyle is off base,” which appeared in Shanghai Daily on June 9.
I agree with your view about the changing contours of lifestyle in Shanghai. I am here on my personal visit to see Shanghai and within my three days of stay here, I felt Western culture quite pervasive in the city.
Although I appreciate Western values of equality, justice and especially their work ethic, I believe the aping of Western culture as a whole may lead to greater losses. Every culture has some positives and negatives. We should try to absorb the good values and filter out the pernicious ones as you rightly pointed out: Learn “the American way in a better sense.”
In my wandering on the streets of the city, I found myself in a city closer to places like New York than to Chinese culture which I have read about in my school books.
Young teens clicking photographs for their new Facebook profile, big luxurious SUV cars on the road with only one person in the car, huge personal per capita spending to keep up with the latest trends, etc., symbolize the changing trends.
I hope the young Chinese generation will preserve and take pride in their own culture in addition to emulating the best from the cultures around the world.
Vatsal Bajpai
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
