Thursday, July 1, 2010
Shared Culture
I would say that I only half agree with Ruth Benedicts’s statement about how we are creatures shaped by our culture. I would agree that culture is shared, and in that the text says, “we learn very early to separate the world into “us” and “them,” and we work very hard to make sure that others recognize which of the two we are.” (p. 344) This is something I have seen in many instances, and I think it is probably tied to our inherent human desire to be a part of something larger. The text also says, “Because cultures are shared, we are not entirely free to act as we wish.” (p. 344) This is where I disagree, and disagree fairly strongly. I believe that we all have the power to choose to be who ever we want, but the truth of the matter is that there are repercussions from anything we do. It is like Newton’s third law, to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction
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I agree with you that we, as humans, have an inherent desire to be part of something larger. It is interesting then, that we separate the world into “us” and “them.” It is interesting that while we all want to be a part of something larger, we also like to be a part of groups that are exclusive rather than inclusive. This is apparent in many of the social issues that become political. For example, not long ago millions of dollars were spent on a campaign to convince California voters to vote yes on proposition 8, which prevented gays from marrying. So that heterosexual married folks became part of an exclusive group.
ReplyDeleteI liked the quote you choose, “we learn very early to separate the world into “us” and “them,” and we work very hard to make sure that others recognize which of the two we are.” Yes, in situations our side of wanting to claim a culture, is a human being thing, where we want to be important and apart of something bigger. Everyone wants to be loved and feel like they have a place on this earth. “Because cultures are shared, we are not entirely free to act as we wish.” I can see how you disagree with this quote, although don't you think the government figures and other regulators hold us back from being totally free.
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