I was at a seminar today about managing conflict with different cultures. The presenter started by breaking us up in two groups and having us discuss a poem. I particularly liked ours:
...All good people agree,
And all good people say,
All nice people, like Us, are We
And every one else is They;
But if you cross over the sea,
Instead of over the way,
You may end by (think of it!) looking on We
As only a sort of They!
-Rudyard Kipling
Usually people are only a they because you haven't met them. Once you learn more and expand your surroundings, you find a common ground and "they" become part of "we"...or vice versa.
The other group had the following quote. I can't find the author. It's all about perspective:
It’s funny.
The French call this un couteau.
The Germans call it ein messer.
And we call it a knife – which it is!
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