LEGACY:
The second half of Outliers moves from the story of the individual to our culture, citing:
1) The culture of honor in the south from a culture of herdsman, where it is important to show you are not weak….in modern society leading to Hatfields and McCoys, higher rates of violent crime, and definitions of what it means to be “a man”.
2) The culture of respect: Using a “power distance index” South Korea is shown to be among countries that have the highest respect for authority, leading to catastrophic consequences for it’s air carrier’s, because junior officers are reluctant to challenge their superiors.
3) The culture of persistence: Chinese rice paddy cultivation requires intensity on a scale far beyond wheat farming, and led to a culture that demands not just hard work but concentration for long periods of time. At a national level this corresponds to math scores success.
So What? Reading this, I couldn’t help but see some of the junk in my life is passed on from the culture of my boyhood, where honor and respect were twisted out of their proper role. It is right to respect the authorities and even honor the king, but not above the Lord. There should be times when I need to “dishonor” someone for their own good, or for the sake of truth, in the same way that I need to be dishonored so that He may become greater.
Yesterday, I was offended by a coworker’s actions, because I had been listening to the lie (from the father of lies) that they were trying to steal my honor. (I know this sounds crazy, but it is the kind of silent stuff that can really take me off the rails). She had legitimate business issues and had cleared her actions with Tom, our boss. We ended up having a productive conversation with our Tom. “Respect” might have told me not to challenge. “Honor” (pride) would have inflamed me to fight to the end…neither was the way.
Why not adopt a new culture…?
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