國考應援團(原公職王網路書局)

From a historical perspective, successful intercultural

communication has been an exception rather than a rule. The history

of humankind details an ongoing antipathy and hostility toward those

who are different. The twentieth century, for instance, suffered two

5

world wars and witnessed the introduction and use of chemical,

biological, and nuclear weapons with potential to destroy humankind.

The world also endured the Holocaust and various smaller–scale

conflicts such as those in Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, and

Afghanistan. Now, the world is faced with the aftermath of the

10

destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City and the

ensuing war on terrorism. In addition, there are numerous ongoing

religious, ethnic, and tribal clashes that seem beyond resolution. The

ongoing clash between primarily Hindu India and predominantly

Muslim Pakistan over Kashmir, which occasionally leads them to the

15

brink of nuclear war, is the case in point. In Indonesia, one of the

most populous countries in the world, a bomb goes off outside a Bali

disco and a new wave of ethnic violence engulfs the country.