Culture of Guilt, Culture of Shame

I was discussing Arab behavior with a Palestinian colleague, and asked him about reports of rich Saudi Arabs going to places like London and spending huge sums of money on gambling, alcohol and, shall we say, women of a certain persuasion. Since they would never dream of doing these forbidden things at home, I said, “Isn’t this the worst possible hypocrisy?”

“No, no, no,” he said. “You don’t understand. You Americans are a culture of guilt. We Arabs are a culture of shame. When I told him I still didn’t understand, he said to think on it for a few days, and to let him know then if I’d figured it out. I’m pleased to say I almost got it right, but he added a few bits I missed.

So, here’s your assignment: Take a few days to guess what Jamal was talking about. On January 5, 2007, I’ll tell you what he said in my next post. I’ll also tell you why I think half the troubles we have in the world today could be solved if our clueless leaders understood the deep significance of “a culture of guilt vs. a culture of shame.”