Saturday, October 12, 2013

The Cultural Question That Nobody Asks

As America becomes more of the melting pot of the world, most children are taught from a young age to be accepting of those around us even if they are different than us. I am very supportive of this kind of parenting because this is exactly how I was raised, but there are two questions that nobody really asks. One of those questions is whether all cultures are equally valid. Before you jump up and say "Of course!", let me ask the question again. Are ALL cultures valid, past and present? Like I said before, my mother raised me to be accepting of those around and to be open minded about different cultures, races, religions, etc, but until this question popped up in my family relations class, I was one of those people who would fight until the ends of the earth to stand up for other cultures. I believe that our culture affects both our individuality and our connection to others, but does that make it valid? There are two simple definitions of the word valid that make me think twice about this topic. The first states that valid means fair or reasonable, and the second, acceptable and according to the law. When we think about culture, almost all of us immediately connect that with religion and race, and as much as both of those play huge roles in an individual's culture, there are many other things to take into consideration. There are many cultures that I could use as examples, but one that I am somewhat familiar with is the culture of gangs. Looking at a gang from a family perspective, you can clearly see a tight-knit, supportive unit, which a lot of individuals see as a good thing, but when you look closer, there are larger problems that come to play. I am from a bad area in Southern California and I have personally seen the kind of effect of being a member in a gang can have on both an individual and a community as a whole. I have seen children go from being innocent with their whole lives ahead of them into law-breaking citizens because they grew up in a family that are members of a specific gang. Gangs are very loyal and many consider them a good family unit, but the atmosphere is clearly not healthy for anyone a part of it. The culture of gangs is neither fair nor according to the law and can even be seen as a parasite to an individual and a community. This is just one example out of so many, but can you still tell me that ALL cultures are valid?

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