East or West, where to go?

Discussion about the cultural identity in the whole world is caused by complex of attitude to the West. Almost all people in the world are trying to live in the west style. But since they noticed, that West doesn’t consider them equals and worth, they become disappointed, annoyed, and have a tendency to stand on their own values. They criticize a western depravity, corruptness and atheism, but live in the houses, equipped in a western style, drives the imported cars. Main part of the discussion about the West and East has no real basement. When people exchange by their perceptions about foreigners, and have no real basement, their polemic is just an empty crap.

Orientals say, as if in the West there are harsh individualism without any respect to parents and old people, a perverse sex and violence. I observe 8 year marriage life of my sister with European in Germany. I visited France, Holland, Belgium and lived in families there, so after all can say in the firm belief that this view has no connection with norms in the West.

Individualism lets human be free (relatively, as in the West there are some attachments also), and doesn’t affect other humans rights in the same time. In the West there are no morality code, written or non-written, which forces to respect their parents. People in the West just without it love their parents and friends very much. In other words, in the West natural human felling of sympathy and love joins people together instead of forced religion and other morals.

Way of living in the West is unpretentious. The only little minority are ably to let themselves “Porsche” or “Jaguar”. Europeans don’t seek for the new models of mobiles. They spend a main part of their incomes for education of their children, for vacation and equipment of their houses. I know from reliable source, that wife of Minister Economics in Germany once helped her son, when he was injured, to reap a harvest, she drove tractor by herself, though she was able hire workers for sure. Orientals also identify West with a luxurious life. In fact, in the West moral dignity and freedom are more valuable then materialistic goods.

I still haven’t decided how to identify myself, I relate to Russian as well as to Ukraine, and I can’t decide if these countries western or eastern. Last time I have carried away to the East as it was always antipode to that western materialistic culture.

I’ve thought eastern morale was able to improve ambiguous western cult of personality, which I’ve thought ignores interests of other people. But, I was fallen in love with phantom of the East.
I tried it on, as a new dress or cosmetic, as it was the last word in fashion here.

And I had lack of objective overview about other civilizations. Lot of old stereotypes I got from school, university and mass media. According to my stereotypes, every oriental is exceptionally spiritual, has own spiritual teacher. Whole day long they pray and spend time in meditations and talking to God. When they are not pray, they work for their family well-being. They never drink, never eat drugs and don’t do any crime, as lows of Shariat so stricted. Every woman is master of bellydance and example of honor same time. It was a little problem with legalization of male’s polygamy, but, well, where they are not polygamous? It is even better, as they honestly marry all their passions. I will not mention myths about Far East, they even more silly…

This East doesn’t exist. Values and mentality of people change with economical development. Typical example is Western Europe, which doesn’t inherited Greek and Roman civilizations straightly. After Germans destroyed them, Europeans have lived a primitive life. Greek and Roman knowledge were inherited by Arabs and natural sciences have developed in the near East and central Asia. The Europeans imitated Greece-Roman culture from the Byzantium and Arabs. After “epoch of great navigation” Europeans monopolized a trade flow to the East, a center of the wealth and worlds trade in that time, and riches in the America. Modernization of Europe started that time with a changing of social order, manners of communicating, values and mentality, developing of economics and science.

Statement of western Europeans that freedom and democracy is the only way of development, that only Europeans were able to develop science, it is nothing but arrogance and a lack of knowledge about their history.
Freedom and democracy in its current appearance were formed only at the beginning of 20 century. And it is not a reason, but consequence of development.
Other nations are able to develop science as well as democracy.

And well, my conclusion: it is better to stay somewhere in the middle, taking the best from both sides...