Cultural Differences: Just Accept Them Already!

First and foremost, I completely agreed with everything and found it very interesting. I realize and understand the arguments on Cultural Relativism, but I really want to talk about the issues that make it necessary for this theory because I really feel passionate about that. There were many little problems that I recognized, but they can all lead back to one: peoples’ understanding and acceptance of cultural differences. Especially in America, I think that people are NOT understanding of cultural differences. I see it being extremely evident in two things: language and religion. Typically Americans see things as right and wrong. Except there’s one little catch. Americans are right and everyone else is wrong. Now, I absolutely love the United States of America and will even be an officer in the US Navy, but this is simply how it is. We think that if someone culturally different does something different from how we do it, it is wrong. I specifically like how the article touched on this. “If we assume that our ideas of right and wrong will be shared by all peoples at all times, we are merely naive.” Then I read this, “These customs cannot be said to be correct or incorrect for that implies we have an independent standard of right and wrong which they may be judged.” It got me thinking. We do have standards of right and wrong to judge people. We have the Constitution and all our laws. However, those things are to judge people on their legality. So as long as their cultural customs are legal in where they are, we cannot judge them. And each culture and country has their own standards. Then I read in the article the part about different cultures’ opinions about the earth being round or flat. But, this is not a valid argument. Things like geography can be proven, and it has been proven that the world is flat. So in this case, the one culture is wrong, BUT you should still respect that culture, despite their belief. “Different societies have different moral codes.” So, back to language and religion. Here in the US, we expect all foreigners, whether they are travelers or foreigners, to speak our language. If they don’t, we get mad and they are wrong. But if we were to go to another country, the chances of a typical American citizen learning their language is very slim. And it is also likely that the people in that country would not be rude to us, but would be as helpful as they can. Again, this is very stereotypical, but still. This excerpt from the article really describes the feelings in this situation. “Our own way of living seems so natural and right that for many of us it is hard to conceive of others living so differently. And when we do hear such things, we tend immediately to categorize those other peoples as backward or primitive.” An example would be the Eskimos leaving the old out in the snow to die. Or, while reading Things Fall Apart, there were many things that I absolutely could not connect to and disagreed with. But I can understand that these traditions, such as multiple wives or killing “evil” babies, are a big and important part of that tribe’s culture. Then the Christians come in and try to change them, which is all fine and dandy except for the fact that many of these missionaries have no respect for the people of the tribe or their ways. Which leads us to the topic of religion. I am a Catholic Christian, so I do not intend disrespect in any of this. Christians, especially born-again Christians seem to be very hypocritical. They preach love for everyone and understanding. But then they are not understanding about any other culture’s religion. I can recall a conversation with one of my friends like this. I made a comment about having respect for everyone and their religion because no one has the right to tell someone that their belief is right or wrong. Their reply was “Well, I don’t know how I feel about that.” I was taken aback. I had always known this person to be very understanding and compassionate, but now my whole view of them was changed. And I think this really describes a lot of American religious views. Religion is a huge part of culture. To solve this problem, I really like what Darius, king of ancient Persia thought. “A sophisticated understanding of the world must include an appreciation of such differences between cultures.”I think that for a better country, and a more peaceful world, (yes, I know it sounds cliché) America, along with every other country, needs to be able to understand, accept, and appreciate one another’s cultures. Then maybe we can all reach the form of argument in Cultural Relativism. Now, the consequences of Cultural Relativism do provide good points, but I really think that by an appreciation of cultural differences, there would be more understanding and cooperation. I am going to end my argument with that, but I want to point out some specific “fine print.” All of this is not to say that we aren’t supposed to compete with other countries, or even retaliate to acts or terrorism, but it will simply bring more understanding. And who knows what that could lead to.

What is Truth?

This question pertains to Existentialism. Plays of the Absurdist Theatre will investigate the relativity of truth. So what exactly is truth? I initially thought of a dictionary definition; factual info. Then as I got more into thinking, I realized that the truth isn’t necessarily just facts. The truth can be an opinion because it is different to everyone. For example, religion plays a big part in this. Christians believe one thing and that is their truth, and Muslims believe something totally different, which is their truth. There is absolutely no proof to tell who is right and who is wrong, but to each group their belief is their truth. For me, I am starting to really figure out my truths. What I believe, what I stand for, important people in my life. So I guess this implies that truths are constants. In a way this kind of makes sense. We have our true friends, the ones that are always there. We have our true beliefs, things that we live our lives by. So what is truth? Truth is what any one person has confidence and certainty in to themselves.

Marriage: Is This A Joke?

During the month of October, I read two pieces of literature that had a connecting topic- marriage. In both pieces, marriage was not taken seriously or respectively. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Gwendolen and Jack, and Cecily and Algernon all act as if marriage is really no big deal. Jack proposes to Gwendolen before they even know each other well enough. Lady Bracknell does not agree to the marriage until she hears that Jack smokes, his age, and his income. I feel like love does not even play a factor. Not to mention the name Earnest is such an important factor for the women. In James Joyce’s “The Boarding House,” After Mrs. Mooney discovers the affair between Polly and Mr. Doran, she immediately jumps to marriage. Now I am not saying I encourage affairs, but honestly they probably didn’t REALLY love each other, so marriage probably wasn’t the best answer. I think that this had become an issue in our society today too. Divorce rates are extremely high and so many people are just jumping into marriages that most likely do not have true, true love. So why is this? Teenage pregnancies? Women’s biological clocks? Money? There are numerous reasons contributing to this issue. Am I still one of the few people to hold marriage sacred? I do not think that marriage should be taken so lightly. I am definitely a fan of marriage and cannot wait to meet my future husband and get married, but I definitely am not going to jump into it for the wrong reasons, especially in the absence of true love. Unfortunately I don’t have a solution to this issue. There is absolutely nothing I can do for all the people in the world who go about marriage carelessly. My only argument is that more people should hold marriage to be more special than just throwing it around like candy on Halloween.

Individualism vs. Collectivism (Again)

I think that the United States has become a nation that prides itself on being fully comprised of individuals. However, I do not think this is completely true. Although being individualistic is great, I think that collectivism is equally important. Although we may not realize it, the important aspects of collectivism sneak into our lives every day.
I used to be a huge advocate of individualism. I play a sport that focuses on the individual's performance and in almost everything I do it is about me as an individual competing against everyone else. My thoughts and ideas were always completely independent. However, this is all about to change. In my whole application process to the United States Naval Academy, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of collectivism. At Summer Seminar, my own achievements no longer mattered as much as what my squad, platoon, or company was able to achieve. It was no man left behind and every man was in charge of making sure that happened.
I began to see the importance of how working as a group, for the greater good of the group, could pay off, even if it meant me slowing down to help motivate a struggling teammate.
This happens every day, not just in the military, but in classrooms, workplaces, and even at home.
I think that in The Fountainhead, collectivism is made out to be the bad guy. Since it is so strongly represented by the evil ways of Ellsworth Toohey, even I began to resent it. I thought that individualistic Howard Roark was the way to go. Then I got to thinking. How would this country be if we were all Howard Roarks? I don’t think it would function very well. Politics is already bad enough.
So I have come to the conclusion that the best scenario is to be a collective group of individuals. What I mean is that a bunch of people with strong personalities and morals all working to promote harmony in a common group, whether it be a squad, classroom, or country, will be most effective. If Americans are able to swallow their self pride for a second and work towards what is best for the whole country than we may not be in the situation we are today. Now I am not saying that people should be pushovers and sell themselves out but when there is an idea that is better than yours, recognize and accept it. You may even be able to incorporate some of your ideas into it to make it even better.