Quick Reflection

This weekend, my twin brother came in from St. Louis to visit me on my fall break. It was a decent time: I took him to a few tourist sites and showed him a slight glimpse into my life. Overall I think he appreciated seeing what the city had to offer, and while talking about my life, he managed to interject little facts about his college expirience as well. My brother has long been a mystery to me, and I found these momentary insights enlightening.
World Politics is much like my relationship with my brother; complicated, mysterious, and you are not exactly sure what you are looking for. Well-intentioned as I (or a state metaphorically) may be; you are viewed with distrust by another state if you stray from the social norms of their mindset. Ideologies are often strikingly different between states; although they often are applied towards a set goal of a similar nature. Some states are more transparent than others, and outside states tend to judge them less harshly, but there is something to be said for cultures who are more reserved and keep their cards closer to their chest. Oftentimes it is because they possess a sense of self-determination, an independent attitude that shuts out all others not out of spite, but because of pride. I feel it wrong for western nations try to mold other cultures into something more palatable for them to handle. As a constructivist would point out, national identity is at the heart of every culture on Earth.
The same is true for a person's personality. There are a wide array of reasons people act the way they do: morals, emotions, and motivations to name a few. Everyone acts rationally through their own viewpoint, and I find my relationship with my brother similar to world politics in that sometimes I need to stop thinking the way I am accustomed to thinking, and to try to see the world through another person's eyes. It's often difficult, but I feel that mutual understanding can be rewarding in the end.