This is No Babel Fiction: Understanding Ethnocentrism

As wars rage on in the East and Mid-East it may be time to evaluate our Western view of where we stand in the world culture stage. Currently, words like insurgent, democracy, tribal wars,staying the course and a host of western terms are commonly used to depict the circumstances in the area known as the cradle of civilization, Iraq. Egypt, Mesopotamia, Mayan, Chinese and Indian cultures and traditions exceed Western written testimony by thousands of years.

Ethnocentrism means according to Oxford English Dictionary, "regarding ones own race or ethnic group as of supreme importance." The raw form of ethnocentric viewpoints allow the perceived superior race or ethnic group to discount the importance of labeled less important races. Dominance is achieved in a variety of manners, but simply is "might makes right."

The kissing cousins of ethnocentrism are pecuniacentrism and deicentrism. The terms are derived from Latin, "pecunia," meaning money and "dei," meaning God. The terms are made up symbiotic explanations of the dynamics of ethnocentrism. The alleged superior race gets to choose whose God is best and by virtue of dominance has the most money.

By virtue of having the most money, the superior race fiction is allowed to perpetuate itself. In other words, God likes one group more than another and thereby provides power and money to dominate the less favored. In some ways it explains, apartheid, slavery, bigotry and extreme religious intolerance.

The United States did not invent ethnocentrism and its perverse exploitation of ethnic groups. One need only look to the pyramids of Egypt and Mesoamerica or the canals, walls and aqueducts throughout Europe to see the manifestation of ethnocentrism. Some designated underclass worked 12 to 18 hours per day building these wonders of the world.