God grew tired of us

This week in sociology, we watched a documentary called "God Grew Tired of Us." It was about refugees from Sudan who had walked for thousands of miles and many years to escape from a war and how they get relocated and need to adjust to life in America. The film really showed how different life and culture where between the two places. Watching the film made me feel incredibly grateful for all the things I have.

I found the contrast between African and American values very obvious. In America, we care about stuff. We care about attaining superficial things and materials and objects. That's how we measure our wealth. The refugees in Africa had a different idea of wealth. They measured wealth in their relationships with family and friends. They want to contribute to the world and their communities to make it a better place. Of an American refugee had to leave their community behind to start again in a new country, I believe they would have approached it differently than the Lost Boys would have. An American would live by the principle, self first. They would try to improve their own lives and regain control before even thinking about going back to help their community. I also believed this would be encouraged, given America's value for the individual. However, the Sudanese were the opposite. They didn't think to get themselves back on their feet before helping their loved ones back home. As soon as they step foot in America, they immediately thought of ways to send money back to Africa. While this is a positive value and attribute, I think this might also be a flaw. I'm aware that I'm biased because I'm an American (social realization), but I personally think it would be easier to build myself up to stable ground before helping others. And I think I would be able to make more of an impact that way. Yet still, the complete selflessness of the Lost Boys was extremely touching, and made me think of the way that I relate to others.