We were able to touch on many different regimes from all over the world and learned about the circumstances surrounding developing political cultures. It is often easy to condemn countries that are different than the United States because they are not democratic, making it difficult to relate to them. Once I learned about the circumstances surrounding the rise of Communist Russia or totalitarian Spain, it was much easier to realize why these regimes may have been viewed positively by their participants, or maybe even continue to be viewed as such. Many people do not often realize that within our own country, even our own state, we have a wealth of cultural diversity. That diversity may range from family values that come from a different country to a life philosophy that is based on a different religion or socioeconomic background.
Intercultural understanding is a very important dimension to experience.
Intercultural understanding not only makes us well rounded people, it also makes the world a safer place. This helps us to be better people, and helps to make the world a safer place.