[TalnSG]

I rarely can abide blanket statements, but this one I cannot disagree with. All nations, led by warriors, politicians and the like, have at some time committed atrocities on citizens of other nations in the name of necessity. That does not justify it, but it evens the scores. Many have even committed them against their own people. So set that entire part of the discussion aside.

When it comes to my affinity for other cultures history is background information - what a culture experienced in the past to cause the way the think and fell today. Beyond that it is incidental.

As for how I reconcile aspects of Japanese culture today with premises I disagree with is more to the point. I do not approve of the male dominance that is taken to extremes in many Asian cultures, so I temper my relationships by sharing my views early and accepting that there may be a difference that cannot be overcome. I do not blind myself to the issue, as the typical "Japanophile" is thought to do. We all compromise our stances when what we expect to gain is more important to us than what we expect to sacrifice. Recently I gain a closer friend and respect of those close to him when I agreed to physically suffer through an evening of continuous kowtowing in respect to his family and beliefs. It was my choice and being given that choice to accept or reject an aspect of his culture was more important than the discomfort of that choice.

No one truly accepts everything in their world, foreign or not. We accomodate. There are aspects of Japanese culture that I have adopted as my own, those which I admire but cannot assimilate, those which I respect but disagree with, and those I whole-heartedly disapprove of. What matters is the whole, not the pieces.