As I walked into the traditional living room of our Baalbek home in rural Lebanon, the television was on full blast. My family was gathered around and watching intently. I turned my gaze to find Eva Longoria acting in Desperate Housewives, the Emmy-award winning, prime time soap opera.
My conventional family has never left the city of Baalbek, located northeast of Beirut. Baalbek is very traditional in its values, and prides itself on housing famous temple ruins from the Roman era. Beirut, on the other hand, is a hip city, attracting thousands of tourists for all the reasons Baalbek doesn t.
Beirut prides itself on its nightlife, fine dining and beaches.
I hadn t visited Baalbek in years, and the last time I was there, we followed the same age-old routine: greet the ever-growing family, discuss national politics, seat ourselves around a grand table to dine, bid our farewells and return home. Sometimes we would visit our farm and experience small town living. But now, I was surprised to see how fast Baalbek had evolved. Even the drive up there was interesting; lining either side of the vast roads were international food chains, such as McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Hut.
So it got me thinking, is Thomas Friedman right? Is the world really flattening out at an immense speed? I took another glance at Eva Longoria s face and my family s familiarity with her, and there was my answer. Eva herself hasn t flattened out the world, rather it s the lifestyle that this show and others promote, and how we have incorporated it into our daily lives.
Many believe that there will never be a bridge connecting the East and West, but I beg to differ.
I recall a colleague having stood up in a Model United Nations summit and saying, Hi, I am from the Middle East. We do not ride camels or sleep in tents. For us Middle Easterners, this was an amusing comment, yet it left many of those unfamiliar with this region in disbelief.
At least in Lebanon and in Saudi Arabia, where I lived for 14 years, this statement is true; people drive the latest European cars, eat hamburgers at western-style diners, and in the cities, live in apartments that people around the world would feel at home in. As in most parts of the world, in Lebanon you can usually find our university students wearing jeans, Adidas sneakers and polo shirts. So really, the only difference is in people s opinions, and even then, there are similarities.
Globalization seems to have taken its toll with the turn of the 21st century.
Friedman speaks of the world being flat from a business perspective, where outsourcing means that you dial a 1-800 number in the States, and someone in India answers your call. He gives credit to common software platforms resulting in global collaboration, outsourcing, off-sourcing and of course, the advent of the internet for making the world lose its spherical shape.
But the dawn of globalization has also brought on social changes, and I would like to add to Friedman s list the global media that is governing our lives and shaping our views.
The world is now captivated by the same news. Britney Spears shaved her head? Amy Winehouse is back in rehab? An earthquake hit China? The same information sweeps across the world as the Black Plague once did.
An 18-year-old friend from Arkansas can now call up my 20-year-old cousin in Baalbek to discuss the good looks of American Idol winner, David Cook, then Google his images together online.
As a result of globalization, young people around the world often share certain tastes and interests even though we come from different backgrounds and live thousands of miles apart. This common foundation, lessening the difference gap, is slowly being built. Our familiarity with Eva is a stepping stone, but there is a long way to go. There is still a lot of hatred and misunderstanding between cultures that needs to be diluted fast, before more violent conflict breaks out.
And yet some people still perceive globalization’s flattening characteristic negatively, concerned that in 50 years or so, we will all become carbon copies of one another and will have lost our uniqueness and sense of tradition.
I am inclined to fear the coming of a Xerox-fate, because the cultures we were proud to belong to are fading. While such a scenario is extreme, there are hints of it. For example, you often need to search the market to find traditional Lebanese dress, whereas a pair of jeans is sold on every corner.
In many ways globalization is helping to explain the differences, allowing people to benefit from the best of both worlds, and bringing an end to the negative stereotypes that currently exist between East and West.
Ceem Haidar is a graduate of the journalism program at Lebanese American University of the class of 2008. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
