Cosmopolitan

October 17th

In the last couple of weeks, I was twice called cosmopolitan — once with (only half) humorous derision, and the other time with grudging admiration. Both times, I haven't reacted to it, although in the first case I wanted to snap back with a witty comeback, and in the second case I wanted to say “thanks”. But in the end, I kept my outward silence as I analyzed those statements internally.

I still am not sure if being called cosmopolitan is an insult or praise. I guess it could be both — depending on the situation or the intent of the speaker. In both cases, when this adjective was spoken about me, it referred to my ease of finding myself in various situations in various places with various people from different backgrounds and nationalities. For me, that is a high compliment. Yet, for one person, it was an invitation to ridicule.

And I never thought about myself in that term, I guess I never had to. Not having local, provincial, or national ideas and prejudices was always natural for me. And it was very helpful as well in my peripatetic lifestyle in my 20s and 30s. Since that came to me naturally, I never had to cultivate it or be aware of it. Having an interest in and understanding of something bigger than immediate surroundings always seemed like correct behavior.

Still, that term can be very pejorative — it can be used as a description of someone without any roots and grounding in a particular culture or society. And as I just remembered, it can be used to describe a person with extreme left-wing politics (i.e. a communist) — and that gives me some food for thought. The derogatory use of “cosmopolitan” was used toward me while we were having a sociopolitical discussion at work. Hmmm….

And that is why you never should discuss politics (and religion and social issues and money) at work. Stick to bitching about the weather and small gossip about managers. That will make life in the office so much easier and more palpable for everyone.