Again, another interesting fable! Or maybe this story is true? There are people in every culture who refuse to accept those who vary from the traditionalist norm. Such people have concrete views, seeing things only in black and white with no room for variance. This way of thinking is more prevalent in Russia, when compared to America. Americans are forced to be more open-minded for numerous reasons. In my mind, the two biggest factors are: (1) our culture is extremely diverse, we're exposed to a lot of different nationalities and customs; and (2) core freedom of expression rights, where people can openly speak about anything w/out consequence (race, religion, politics, sexuality, etc.). You can disagree with others, but if you sat there and judged everyone with different viewpoints or lifestyles, you would have time in your life for nothing else.