# Difference Detectors By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-09-09 If one believes Americans are largely not united in a single culture, one should visit and work in other countries. One will quickly see that the differences between Americans are relatively minor in comparison to the cultures of other countries. While we fight internally with what seem like radically different views, we are still very capitalistic, individualistic, and immature (perhaps late teenager) in decision-making. There are many more ways of being that one will experience outside of the US borders. We stand out like sore thumbs, just like foreigners in America. Even those who look and dress like another's culture are betrayed by their words, beliefs, and ways of being in the world. This ability to detect liars, fakes, and others is deep within the human operating system. We can do it quickly and effectively, which served us well in survival times. However, it has created great societal tension as nations are endlessly more powerful and corruptible than tribes. It is hard to imagine the end of nations and global cultural alignment when we effectively detect differences, and it is such a primal behavior. Transcending this is not rejecting it but appreciating the differences in solidarity while avoiding the paradox of tolerance. Maximize the value of the collective differences while minimizing the hierarchical divisions. #### Related Items [[Society]] [[American]] [[Culture]] [[Tolerance]] [[Power]] [[Hierarchy]] [[Solidarity]] [[Decision-making]]