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DeborahDeal
Farmgirl at Heart
1 Posts
Deborah
Golden
Colorado
USA
1 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 19 2020 : 11:06:16 AM
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I thought I'd share the cultural humility episode I had while Dad was in the military that I had to write about for my management class:
The earliest of my "lessons" in humility that I can remember was at age 7 when my Dad was in the Air Force. We had just moved to Okinawa, Japan, and were "living on the economy." This meant that you were not living on a US military base, but rather amongst the "natives" or "locals." The natives at that time were still coming out of the horrific assault on their island during WWII and were not living what we would consider modern lifestyles. I asked my Mom why we were advised (by the U.S. State Dept.) not to eat "on the economy" - meaning eat the produce & meat produced by locals. (We bought food from the military commissaries.) I was told it was because the locals used untreated human & animal feces directly on their crops and there was a chance for disease transmission. As a little kid, this totally grossed me out. But, I wondered why it was acceptable for the locals to eat this kind of food, but not me. Was that fair? Didn't they deserve the same health practices that we enjoyed? This was my first memorable cultural wake-up call. Today I work for IX Power Clean Water which makes water safer. Coincidence? Hmm ...
Deborah Deal
The Green Deals
Golden, Colorado |
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Life in the military
