Multiculturalism is Ethnocentrism Repackaged
Multiculturalism is Ethnocentrism Repackaged
by Saerk
this is actually an answer to a question for homework. poor teacher who has to read this…
Recount and reflect on a cultural clash you have had.
culture clash? I’m afraid I am not really part of any culture, since I self-enculturalize myself (not completely, but to a relatively great extent). People who experience culture clashes experience a clash because they were involuntarily encultured by their society when they were young enough to be done so. Their very thought is affected by their culture. Their minds are closed systems. Until they experience a culture clash. Then they simply cannot comprehend the other party’s culture. Their culture has always explained itself for them. Cultures are self-contained. When a culture clash occurs, both parties try to assess the other party’s culture in their own culture’s terms. That is the problem.
Culture is often confused with tradition. Culture can exist without tradition. In fact, culture needs to rid itself of tradition for it to retain its meaning. Who needs a way of life of the past for the present? It is ludicrous.
Traditional culture is a bad thing for humanity. Since it assumes inherent differences in the nature of those of different culture. It evokes primitive tribal feelings within us, of which we no longer need, now that we have civilization, especially now that we are so close to a global one. Humans need group feeling to function in the group, as a group for a particular cause. But one culture against another, one all encompassing way of life against another? It is of course true that people of different geographical regions need different ways of life. But different cultures? Different closed frameworks for thought when we are of the same species?
The confused in the culture clash might just say that the other party’s culture is wrong. But then they both say that. How can they both be right? And there is also an intuitive understanding, suppressed by culture that they may well be the same, and their culture due to the different paths their respective people took in life. And now that they have met each other, perhaps it is time to together reflect their different experience of their shared humanity.
But there are others in culture clashes, due to their self-proclaimed belief in reason, find saying the other culture is wrong problematic. Since they cannot defend a similar attack on their own culture. They propose “cultural relativism”. If they cannot criticize other cultures while defending their own, they just give up. They close in again. Cultural relativism is just ethnocentrism repackaged (a parallel is “creation science” being just biblical fundamentalism repackaged), selfish and denying our common humanity.
Cultures need to interact and try to understand each other, not ignore. Yet some people claim to have tried understanding when what they have done is merely searched for a justification for their ignorance of other cultures. Their explanation of the culture would be something like: ”Oh, people of culture x belief what they belief because they were brought up by the previous generation to do so.” Which is of course, merely the cultural mechanism. They don’t seem to be able to assess their own culture. It is to them right, forgetting that they were encultured in the same way too.
No, we don’t need cultural displays, and detached academic studies of culture, and the like. What we need is true communication between all human beings. When that happens , we will all find that we share the same humanity, and that we have a wider and richer sense of human experience from diverse cultures. Not only do we need to accept each otherm we have to understand each other too. Is the present preferred formula of avoiding all possible “controversy” really tolerance? Is not letting people understand us, and not willing to understand them really tolerance? We are only tolerant if we can set aside superficial differences to truly understand each other. Then we can love each other. Then we will have peace. And rightly claim to have it.
by Saerk
this is actually an answer to a question for homework. poor teacher who has to read this…
Recount and reflect on a cultural clash you have had.
culture clash? I’m afraid I am not really part of any culture, since I self-enculturalize myself (not completely, but to a relatively great extent). People who experience culture clashes experience a clash because they were involuntarily encultured by their society when they were young enough to be done so. Their very thought is affected by their culture. Their minds are closed systems. Until they experience a culture clash. Then they simply cannot comprehend the other party’s culture. Their culture has always explained itself for them. Cultures are self-contained. When a culture clash occurs, both parties try to assess the other party’s culture in their own culture’s terms. That is the problem.
Culture is often confused with tradition. Culture can exist without tradition. In fact, culture needs to rid itself of tradition for it to retain its meaning. Who needs a way of life of the past for the present? It is ludicrous.
Traditional culture is a bad thing for humanity. Since it assumes inherent differences in the nature of those of different culture. It evokes primitive tribal feelings within us, of which we no longer need, now that we have civilization, especially now that we are so close to a global one. Humans need group feeling to function in the group, as a group for a particular cause. But one culture against another, one all encompassing way of life against another? It is of course true that people of different geographical regions need different ways of life. But different cultures? Different closed frameworks for thought when we are of the same species?
The confused in the culture clash might just say that the other party’s culture is wrong. But then they both say that. How can they both be right? And there is also an intuitive understanding, suppressed by culture that they may well be the same, and their culture due to the different paths their respective people took in life. And now that they have met each other, perhaps it is time to together reflect their different experience of their shared humanity.
But there are others in culture clashes, due to their self-proclaimed belief in reason, find saying the other culture is wrong problematic. Since they cannot defend a similar attack on their own culture. They propose “cultural relativism”. If they cannot criticize other cultures while defending their own, they just give up. They close in again. Cultural relativism is just ethnocentrism repackaged (a parallel is “creation science” being just biblical fundamentalism repackaged), selfish and denying our common humanity.
Cultures need to interact and try to understand each other, not ignore. Yet some people claim to have tried understanding when what they have done is merely searched for a justification for their ignorance of other cultures. Their explanation of the culture would be something like: ”Oh, people of culture x belief what they belief because they were brought up by the previous generation to do so.” Which is of course, merely the cultural mechanism. They don’t seem to be able to assess their own culture. It is to them right, forgetting that they were encultured in the same way too.
No, we don’t need cultural displays, and detached academic studies of culture, and the like. What we need is true communication between all human beings. When that happens , we will all find that we share the same humanity, and that we have a wider and richer sense of human experience from diverse cultures. Not only do we need to accept each otherm we have to understand each other too. Is the present preferred formula of avoiding all possible “controversy” really tolerance? Is not letting people understand us, and not willing to understand them really tolerance? We are only tolerant if we can set aside superficial differences to truly understand each other. Then we can love each other. Then we will have peace. And rightly claim to have it.
posted by zcer at 11:34 PM
1 comments
