Culture

One of the most influential events in my life was awakening to cultural programming. I mean being able to recognize first that many beliefs were dictated by culture and secondly recognizing some of those cultural dictations in myself.

It's only natural that the worldview we are steeped in would be the lens through which we view the world, but what is not good is that this fact is often invisible to us. And if the fact itself is invisible to us, then all the subsequent conclusions that are based on it appear to originate from something far more substantial than culture.

If you disagree that this occurs, it is likely because you yourself are still blinded by your own culture. Again, not that this is anything particularly heinous or abnormal...in fact, it is perfectly normal...but it is still flawed.

If culture were absolute, then it would not be flawed. But there are lots of cultures and it is possible to change cultures. It is even possible to be a part of more than one culture at a time. So if there are numerous cultures and they don't agree on all points, then some of them must be wrong. By definition, truth can not be pluralistic. It may appear that way if it is broad enough, but a true thing cannot contradict itself. Therefore if any two cultures are ever in opposition, at least one of them is wrong. (The interesting thing is that, while they can't both be right, they can both be wrong, but that is neither here nor there.) Of course we aren't talking about religions here, only cultures. Many cultures don't claim to be better than any other, just different. So, let's look at it from a moral perspective.

I am no universalist, as I have explained, so there is such a thing as ultimate truth. If you want to argue that, feel free to comment to that effect and I'll take it up in another post. So if a religion claims that all ways will reach the same path, it is by definition wrong because if something is true, it can't contradict itself. (Again, I'm not saying there can't be apparent contradictions.) Since religions are inherently claims to truth, if any two religions fundamentally disagree, at least one must be wrong because, again, there can't be two opposing truths. But cultures don't necessarily claim to be the only way nor do they logically need to be. It is perfectly logical that there may be more than one way to cook an egg, to make a breakfast, to build a house, to celebrate a special occasion, to dress, to organize economies, etc. These don't necessarily violate any universal morals or truths. Therefore, to think that one's culture is the only way is to believe something that is untrue. Therefore that cultural blindness is a flaw.

I'll go a step further. Even to think that one's culture is better than others is flawed. Sure there may be aspects of various cultures that are more efficient, or more suited to our personal tastes, or what have you. We may evaluate them as being, "better" than another. But we must understand that there is no universal standard to compare by. For example, to me, cold cereal and milk for breakfast is far better than miso soup and salad. I like these foods, but to me, the flavor and texture of the cereal and the coolness of the milk are far preferred to the savoriness of the soup and salad in the morning. But to my Japanese friends, they can't possibly agree. Then I know Americans who prefer the Japanese breakfast, and vice versa. The point is that with no universal standard outside of ourselves by which to judge, we can't truly say that one is better than the other. That preference may appear to be universal if all those present are operating in the same culture. This is the essence of cultural blindness. The bigger and more widespread the culture, the greater the effect of the blindness. Obviously breakfast is a silly example, but many wars have been fought and much devestation has been wrought over differences that are really nothing more than cultural preferences.

So what can be done about it? Well the classic answer even from ancient times is to travel. Travel takes us into other cultures and forces us to experience them. Even a Disney vacation is better than nothing, but it would be better to travel in such a way that we really get to engage the culture. With enough travel, even the most ignorant and culturally blinded person will eventually come around to the realization that there are more ways to do things and that most of them are perfectly ok. But it is also possible to learn this from study, and from friendships. The common factor here is exposure.

You'd think that in as mutlicultural a place as America, we'd be as exposed as we could get right? So we Americans must have a pretty good handle on the world, right? Oh think again. Remember that cultural programming is largely invisible to those within it. This means that what we perceive as our own culture is only part of our culture. It has to be viewed from outside to get the whole picture. And once you view it from the outside, you can see that there is a far more well-defined American culture than most Americans think. People from other cultures can spot it and even Americans who have lived outside of it, can pick it out instantly.

When I lived in Japan, I could tell most Americans from any other nationality at a glance. Especially if they were tourists, since the tourists hadn't even begun to absorb the other culture yet. I'm not making a value judgement on American culture. As I said, there is good and bad in every culture. I'm simply saying it is better to see it for what it is than to be blinded and ignorant of it.