I was discussing different cultures with a fellow traveler from the Philippines, and she asked me the question, “what do you think is the biggest shortcoming of Americans?” It only took a moment for me to reply, “humility”. A slow grin spread across her face. She was pleased and surprised that I’d come up with the answer she’d had in her mind when asking the question.

For all our initiative and creativity, Americans lack humility. The conversation continued with more comparisons of our homelands. I asked her, “what if you had a brother who refused to do any work and just lived off of your parents? Would you kick him out?” “Of course not”, she replied. I suspect this to be true of Mexico too. Caring for others is a characteristic of communal societies.

One of the more impressive experiences I’ve had is watching every Mexican on the bus reach into their pockets to grab a few pesos to give to the musician who just finished playing a couple songs. You will see young girls walking between waiting cars collecting change to purchase uniforms for their soccer team. I was recently told a story of a fisherman whose house had burned down, and the entire collective contributed a day’s pay or labor to helping him rebuild. These are communities that recognize a healthy society is made up of a collection of healthy individuals.  They know that any of us can find ourselves in need one day.

There’s just not a sense of personal entitlement in Mexico. It’s less of “what can you do for me” and more of “what can I do for you” culture. It shows itself in the most simple of ways. There’s an expression you often hear when you thank a Mexican for their help. It is “para servirle”, which means “to serve you”.

My biggest disappointment when returning from this trip was being asked for spare change within 30 minutes of crossing the border. I had forgotten about bums. Mexico doesn’t have a culture of able bodied people walking around asking you to give them money for themselves. A sense of personal entitlement does not serve a society.

A recent experience I had in Mexico was watching a woman get on the bus and find someone sitting in her ticketed seat. When the seated woman offered to move, the other said not to worry about it and took a seat in the next row. This happened a couple more times with other people, and never did anyone insist on their seat. Communal cultures will always defer to harmony over self righteousness.

Mexicans also strive to include everyone. It shows in their legalization of gay marriage years before other countries. There is also no stigma to being homosexual or transgender. This in a country that is 85% Catholic. Humility means not imposing your beliefs on others.

Even in business, Mexicans act collectively. When I’m at a market, if the vendor does not have what I’m looking for, they will send me to another vendor who does. One time I was looking for sandals, and the vendor didn’t have the size I needed. He went to another vendor and brought back a pair in my size. I bought the sandals, and the vendors split the profit.

I love the collective lifestyle. In fact, there’s a vehicle in Mexico called a “collectivo”. This is a van that drives down the road picking up people, who wave it down, and takes them to their destinations. It sounds like a taxi, except in this case, the cost of the trip is reduced because you share the trip with other people going in the same direction.

And that’s what you get from a collective society. A people who realize we’re headed in the same general direction, and by working together, we can all get to our individual destinations. This is something that cannot work in a society that values the individual rights over the whole; that values entitlements over effort. If we are going to take from others, let’s at least recognize their good ideas and not just their cheap labor. If we want to make America great again, let’s figure out how we can serve the world and couple that with a dose of humility.