What happened to me?

Professor Michael Paige stated that the reason he loves working in the field of intercultural education is that everyone is passionate about the subject, truly believes in it’s need, and then added comically, and in the end “you’re just trying to figure out what happened to you!”

As a novice to the field of intercultural communication and education I have a general understanding of why it’s needed without having to read any material or do research; it just makes sense because of the world we live in. But today I had several moments of realization that affected me on both a personal and professional level and I thought: “oh, that’s what happened!”

Ideal Myths and Real Consequences was the first workshop I attended at the IMI conference. The main focus of the workshop was that although we consider our respective societies to be very rational and logical that what often affects our idea of common sense and logic is the “mythical.” Richard Harris used paradise as his example; all cultures have a concept of paradise, what it would be like, and how to get there. This concept is often based on religion, folklore, or myth and yet can shape our logic and how we reason.

The idea that my faith or beliefs could somehow influence my logical thought seemed far-fetched at first, but the more examples he gave, the more it rang true. For instance, how our recent president could justify his decisions on foreign policy and war on faith and Christian ideals—the Middle East being something out of Revelations or having a Biblical reference. His decisions were rational to him and to many Christian Americans.

I do not believe that the “mythical” affects all of us in the same way, but it must impact all of us to an extent.

I left the workshop wondering whether there really is such thing as “common sense” if it’s all subjective? Also, what have I internalized through my own culture and upbringing that makes my thought process totally unreasonable and illogical.