Contributed photo: Reuters President Obama bows to Japan’s Emperor Akihito.

There has been a lot of talk lately after President Barack Obama’s trip to Asia.  On his trip, Obama bowed to several people when greeting them, as it is tradition there. It is a sign of respect, especially when you bow lower than the person you are greeting.

Now for many people that seems to signal some kind of weakness on Obama’s part. They have been saying that by bowing, he shows that his partner is superior to him, and that it is not appropriate. Since he is one of the most powerful men in the world, arguably the most powerful, he is supposed to be the superior one and he is also supposed to show that to everybody.

While some might think that it was inappropriate, I myself don’t see anything wrong with it. Just because he is one of the most powerful men in the world means that he does not have to show his respect to other people? Do people really think that it is better to act as if you are the most important person in the world and everybody is beneath you?

I don’t think that is going to get you very far. I think that it is always important to treat everybody with respect. Chances are, they might do the same and it makes you start out on a much better basis than upsetting someone because you are acting like you are something better. I don’t know about you, but I don’t appreciate that kind of behavior.

I don’t get what is so terrible about this. Bowing to somebody does not make you weak. It is just another form of greeting somebody. Americans need to get over the idea that they are better than everybody else and that they can just enforce their opinion and world views on others. (I am not saying that every American is like that, but seen in general on a larger scale.)

Just because other cultures have different world views and traditions does not mean automatically that they are bad. It also does not mean that other people have to adjust to our way of thinking or our traditions and behavior.

Obama was a guest in Asia and that should mean that he has to adapt to their way of life and not the other way around. Even if Obama has an immense amount of power, this does not give him the right to treat everybody else like his inferiors. Treating somebody with respect and as your equal often brings much better results.

The President did nothing wrong. In fact I think he did everything right, and I believe that he has a much better approach to dealing with other countries and cultures than many others.

We just need to adjust our way of thinking a little bit.