Culture is social energy that encourages humans to act in accordance with the customs that apply to a particular country group, namely something something unique that contains meaning, direction, and mobilization. Culture is habits that are inherent and become the identity of a people. This happens automatically from generation to generation in the life of a community group and considered a normal thing to do. It is a norm that people make this habit their lifestyle. Every Countries have different cultures depending on the habits of their people.
Indonesia is a country that adheres to eastern culture. culture Eastern people, especially Indonesians, prioritize manners or normalcy called upload-ungguh in social life. In Indonesia every aspect of life is regulated by using the values and norms that apply in society.
However, this is the opposite of western culture. Most Indonesian people consider western culture to be a free and liberal culture. For example, regarding appearance, Western people's way of dressing tends to be open. Moreover, social life there is so free, alcoholic beverages, free sex, and atheism is something that is common practice. That's why western culture is considered bad by most Indonesian people. But did you know that not everything held by westerners is bad. There are several cultures in western countries that do not exist in Indonesia but are worth emulating. Curious? Let's look at the complete explanation below.
- Give priority to pedestrians
At first glance, this sounds trivial, but did you know that it is very difficult to do. If you don't get used to it, it will be impossible to cultivate that kind of small tolerance. We know that drivers in Indonesia can be orderly because of traffic rules. However, we often find that in crossing areas, it is very rare for vehicles to yield and give priority to crossing the road. In fact, in the west, crosswalks are highly valued and are one of the priorities that must be prioritized when on the road. If someone wants to cross, every vehicle that will pass in front of them will stop and wait until the person has finished crossing the road. Without any obligations or traffic lights to regulate, they do this in an orderly manner. Apart from training patience, it turns out that this also trains us to be socially conscious.
2. Appreciate time
There is a slogan "time is money". This is true for western countries, However, in Indonesia only a small number of people actually apply it in their daily lives. Only a few people can make the best use of the time in their lives. Indonesia is known as a country that has little respect for time. There is even the term "jam jam" which has become a culture. Lack of discipline and frequent procrastination of work makes him less able to appreciate time. How to change this culture? Culture is not easy to change, especially in a short time. But not easy doesn't mean it's impossible. Renald Khasali in his book Myelin expressed this based on experience with the team he led, at least there is 5 steps that must be taken to change the culture, that is, forced, had to, Can, normal, and finally it becomes culture.
3. Prioritize people with special needs/disabilities
Not many of us realize that the small things we do will mean a lot to other people. One way is to prioritize people with special needs (disabled) or have physical limitations when in public places. Public facilities are a right intended for the entire community. That's why a person needs a high level of awareness to be able to empathize with people with disabilities. Prioritizing them is a commendable action, and strangely, this habit is actually carried by western culture. These positive habits of western people are very worthy for us to emulate. Moreover, currently there are many public places that provide special facilities for people with disabilities. There is nothing wrong if we care and share small happiness with them.
4. Queuing culture
Queuing is an activity requires a lot of patience. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people who are unable to implement it simply because they are unable to be patient. In Indonesia We still often meet people who don't understand the importance of the culture of queuing. Even though queuing is a form of respect for other people. If you want appreciated by people then appreciate others first. Have you do that?
Writer : I@
Source : Maria Magazine