The culture is not people
The culture is more powerful than people
The people were born into the culture
The culture is more powerful than people
The people were born into the culture
The people will defend the culture
But the people did not choose the culture
An irritating Scotsman, as he identified himself, once accused 'You British' of repression, and proudly declared his support for independence. I didn't have any reply ready at the time, but it led to much consideration of the true problems of his argument. It is this: that we didn't choose our culture. A baby born has no choice in it's parents, or their environment. We defend it, we are part of it, what is familiar is 'right', and most would choose it again unless faced with something really more attractive. But it isn't the same as culture being 'of' the people. Culture is not the people, the people live in a culture. Culture is an inherited title, persisting where we have otherwise accepted the flaws of hereditary privileges. A culture is a meme, an evolving concept which is transmitted between the generations outside of genetic or epigenetic information. Or perhaps 'culture' is the composite of the vast number of separate memes of the individual groups of members (Forget the misuse of 'meme' by the interwebs). Parents pass on the culture to their children, and they actively choose to do this. Isn't it right that parents should be allowed to raise their children as they see fit. But are children property of the parents, do they exist to fulfill the rights of the parents? If the same parents had been born themselves to a different culture they would defend the right to pass this on. I don't feel any compulsion to respect a historical re-enactment, or a particular artistic movement, and nor do I a culture. Respect people, respect the human being, though they may have become a permanent part of any culture. They are a human within a culture. But what if we are faced with something more attractive. What if the west is the best. The Islamic preachers defending their culture can see the threat; they will lose the young. It's fear of destruction that leads to the extreme reactions. People should have a right to belong to the best culture, let the others be consigned to books, let the second enlightenment begin.
But the people did not choose the culture
An irritating Scotsman, as he identified himself, once accused 'You British' of repression, and proudly declared his support for independence. I didn't have any reply ready at the time, but it led to much consideration of the true problems of his argument. It is this: that we didn't choose our culture. A baby born has no choice in it's parents, or their environment. We defend it, we are part of it, what is familiar is 'right', and most would choose it again unless faced with something really more attractive. But it isn't the same as culture being 'of' the people. Culture is not the people, the people live in a culture. Culture is an inherited title, persisting where we have otherwise accepted the flaws of hereditary privileges. A culture is a meme, an evolving concept which is transmitted between the generations outside of genetic or epigenetic information. Or perhaps 'culture' is the composite of the vast number of separate memes of the individual groups of members (Forget the misuse of 'meme' by the interwebs). Parents pass on the culture to their children, and they actively choose to do this. Isn't it right that parents should be allowed to raise their children as they see fit. But are children property of the parents, do they exist to fulfill the rights of the parents? If the same parents had been born themselves to a different culture they would defend the right to pass this on. I don't feel any compulsion to respect a historical re-enactment, or a particular artistic movement, and nor do I a culture. Respect people, respect the human being, though they may have become a permanent part of any culture. They are a human within a culture. But what if we are faced with something more attractive. What if the west is the best. The Islamic preachers defending their culture can see the threat; they will lose the young. It's fear of destruction that leads to the extreme reactions. People should have a right to belong to the best culture, let the others be consigned to books, let the second enlightenment begin.
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