Everybody can be accused on ethnocentrism at least once in their lives. Even though their crime may not be obvious to them, it is usually shown in little matters and ways of thinking. Ethnocentrism is simply the belief that one’s group or culture is superior to another. This can be applied to race, different countries, or even to sexist or ageism issues. Typically, ethnocentrism is most commonly applied to race and other cultures/countries. Ethnocentrism is defined as a bad term. Wikipedia states, “The fallacy of ethnocentrism is committed by people who exaggerate the role of their own group in its interactions with other groups.” However, in some cases, ethnocentrism can actually be a positive way of thinking.
Ethnocentrism is wrong for obvious reasons; it puts down a certain group or culture. I think the biggest case of ethnocentrism that America has experienced is the time of the second civil war. Ethnocentrism was what came between the white and black people for centuries. Even today, in 2007, white and black people are both suffering the consequences of the past ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism can lead to a group thinking they are self-righteous and better than another group. It also gives lead way to judge another culture’s way of life. An example of this is when Adolph Hitler and his Nazi followers thought they were better then the Jewish people and even judged the Jewish people to be lower than dirt. This case of ethnocentrism lead to the horrifying deaths of about six million Jewish people. Hitler’s ethnocentric mindset eventually led to World War 2.
Ethnocentrism has also been proven to be a positive thing as well. In regards to race, Mt. Diablo High School started having racially segregated school assemblies. In each assembly, they discussed the race’s average test scores and encouraged them to do better. Although majority of the students and parents found these assemblies to be racist, the test scores improved among every racial group that year. However, while this may seem like a positive thing, it can also be a negative one as well. There was much confusion during the assemblies as well because the students who were racially mixed were torn between assembly groups.
Another positive thing birthed from ethnocentrism is patriotism. While extreme nationalism can lead to wars, having a sense of pride in one’s country is always good for the society. Since Americans think they have the best culture, they tend to strut it around. With strutting around also comes a better lifestyle. Even though Americans do not have the best way of living, the belief of being the best has lead us to living a comfortable lifestyle. Being a little bit ethnocentric develops a strong unity in different people groups. It also helps social integration among groups. Social integration is a positive action according to Emile Durkheim. Durkheim even called social integration the “protection from suicide”. So in a sense, ethnocentrism can be considered as a protection from suicide.
Another example of ethnocentrism can be seen in any military group. They use ethnocentrism to train new recruits. They teach every member that the “Army is the best,” or the “Marines are the strongest”, and so on. When they teach this to the members, they are heightening their group of fighters and lowering the others. The result of this has been brotherhood in each military group. It has also established extreme loyalty and respect that would carry several of these soldiers to sacrificing their lives. Although there seems to be a competition between each military group to be the best, no major offenses and crimes have been committed against one another.
In conclusion, ethnocentrism can be both a bad and good thing. It is good to be proud of one’s heritage, country, and culture. Ethnocentrism can lead to social integration and strong personal, patriotism, and group ties. Two great examples of ethnocentrism being exercised for the common good can be seen in military groups and possibly Mt. Diablo High School. However, like anything in life, extremes are bad. Therefore extreme ethnocentrism can breed racism, hate crimes, and even wars. The worse cases of ethnocentrism can be seen in World War 2 and Civil War 2. Instead of people getting mad when others are being a little bit ethnocentric, they should first see the ethnocentrism in themselves. Then they should learn that a person’s ethnocentrism is what their biases are.
