from the perspective of the other

I've been doing some referencing today for the purposes of peeling off the layers of onion that make up this subject - what can the other teach me about me? I found this in a regularly read blog www.schilt.info/ of my mate Robert. "What does it mean to be a man? The status and the influence a male within a westernised society has could perhaps be measured by things such as money, physical looks and his ability to coerce fellow humans. Sad but true. You need only observe the actions and focus of our current world leaders to realize this. War, violence, disease and poverty are the legacy of the men of the so called “west”. Within a tribal society the yardstick of maleness does its measuring slightly different. Personal attributes such as integrity, compassion and character are highly regarded. The strong man within the clan is a warrior and a gardener, he listens and he cares, he leads, he loves. His decisions are based on what is best for the group and not on what he might stand to gain." For a blog that goes into both the object (PNG and its people) and the subject (the blogger) you come away with the feeling of having experienced both.