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MUBBY
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CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 18, 2006 - 05:49 PM
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Knowing where we come from is a key to knowing where we are going. This however, is not the case with many youths.
It is very important to know who we are and where we come from inorder to understand some of the issues and problems that the world is facing today.
Many youths of our generation do not appreciate the importance of culture and identity.As a result we tend to compromise our positions.
Because when you know who you are and know where you come from ,you will definately stand on what you believe in and you actually stick to your principles.
Lets face it friends, all these cases we hear of defilment,rape etc are mainly because of lack of culture and identity.
The dangers of not knowing who you are,lack of principles,no determination ,no goals and dreams and our role as future leaders will be affected.'HOW DOES A BLIND MAN LEAD ANOTHER BLIND MAN'?
Lets therefore,appreciate our culture,know who we are and together strive to change this world.
We can do it if stand on what we believe.
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Kemi Ibor
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 19, 2006 - 07:37 AM
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I agree very strongly with this article, but where i come from, most of the youths suffer from too much culture and identity. it so bad that even in schools, tribalism is not frowned upon. In the homefront, the order of the day is the culture and norms which must be strictly adhered to. This makes no room for growth and new ideas. I think that as much as we encourage culture and identities other issues like discrmination, consequences of certain cultures like female genital mutilation, unbelievabl marriage practices and others i havent mentioned should also be very strongly addressed
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e.sum
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 19, 2006 - 12:23 PM
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mubby> your post reminds me of a saying, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
I would add that while I agree that learning about one's culture is important, I also believe there is a fine line between culture & identity and ideology.
link to wiki page on ideology
I would also point out that culture is not a static thing. Cultures change and adapt over time and will mean different things to different subgroups who practice within the same culture.
This post was edited on: 2006-06-19 at 12:25 PM by: esum
This post was edited on: 2006-06-19 at 12:25 PM by: esum
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crazyMADskills
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 19, 2006 - 05:51 PM
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I don't necesarilly believe that problems begin with a lack of personal identity or knowing ones culture. But rather it is the lack of knowledge, appreciation and understanding of other cultures that causes conflict, strife and pure enmity between people. It is important that we know who we are but we must also accept others for who they are as well.
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Hayk
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 21, 2006 - 11:22 AM
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mubby wrote:
This however, is not the case with many youths.
It is very important to know who we are
You think one can know who one entirely is? We are a "blacker" box to ourselves than we think we are. There are so many things none of us cannot explain or anyhow else describe or predict...We try, through various acts, to know ourselves better but many do not attain a level where they can see that there is still too much about them unknown to themselves and others...!
and where we come from
This is less and less true because of our accerated pace of globalization, especially in areas greatly affected by it such as all Europe, much of Asia and most of American continent.. African continent esepciall sub-Sahara is still me traditional, cultural and pure!
Because when you know who you are and know where you come from ,you will definately stand on what you believe in and you actually stick to your principles.
In this dynamic world everything changes, but the core of things remains! Core doesnt include much besides basic huma values and principles!
And i dont understnad what you mean by saying "know where you come from". Does it mean you know traditions, culture etc of your country! If yes, it hasnt much to do with a broader view of the world. Many people are "experts" about their countries but know not much about the rest..
Lets face it friends, all these cases we hear of defilment,rape etc are mainly because of lack of culture and identity.
I dont agree here..
Firstly, in the way it is perceived usually, it is not possible to have lack of culture.. It is rather have a different implementation of the culture..
The dangers of not knowing who you are,lack of principles,no determination ,no goals and dreams and our role as future leaders will be affected.
lack of principle- OK, i agree, lack of determination- agree, lack of goals, i dont agree, whether conscious or unconsious we have our goals and we make our choices..
'HOW DOES A BLIND MAN LEAD ANOTHER BLIND MAN'?
Leading is not a visual treat necessarily! OK i know what you mean in the phrase, but still its ambiguos cause it insinuates that only non-blind person can lead and i dont agree with that! Leading takes much more than a sight..!
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MUBBY
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 21, 2006 - 02:02 PM
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Am writing this with regard to MNOPQ 's reply.
Please get me right I did not say one can know one self intirely,NO!Thats God's secret.What I meant by knowing who you are is,knowing why you exist,why you live and who you are as a person.You can not tell me that you are a blacker box to yourself.
Its the level at which you should know what you are capable of doing,your weaknesses and your strengths, what you can do and what you cant.
Knowing where you come from on the other hand,makes you identify yourself with a certain culture.You can not tell me that globalisation can make you cease to be a European,certainly not! Get me right this has little to do with traditional culture,rather it has more to do with the norms we get from our society.
There are some cultures where some people do accept people from other cultures this is why we have racism.This is why its important to know our culture so that we can learn to accomodate other cultures.
I agree with you we live in a dynamic world but who said dynamism means forsaking culture,morals and beliefs?In my opinion dynamism has brought acceptance and tolerance of one another.I dont think even God was foolish enough to make Africans ,European etc what He wanted was for us to accept one another regardless of our cultural background.
Each and every society has morals and expected behaviour.But you can only know the standards of your society if you know your culture because that way you be able to know what is acceptable and what is not.
We all set goals at one time or another but only a few achieve them,have you ever wondered why?
Because many set goals without
[[i]Knowing if they can achieve them or not(knowing yourself)
ii]we do not work towards them(we dont know our potential)
iii]we have not discovered the great person within us -so we do not know the exploits we can do.
We would have all been Doctors but because of the fact that we know ourselves we merger in fields where we can perform better.
If we have to put a message across to our fellow youths then its important that we positively know ourselves.
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Hayk
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 25, 2006 - 11:26 AM
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Sorry for my late reply !
mubby wrote:
Am writing this with regard to MNOPQ 's reply.
Please get me right I did not say one can know one self intirely,NO!Thats God's secret.What I meant by knowing who you are is,knowing why you exist,why you live and who you are as a person.
What you mention here yields to know oneself entirely as you said! Questions like why do we exist and who we are are those which are the hardest to respond to!
You can not tell me that you are a blacker box to yourself.
No I know myself better then you know me, but dostnhelp the problem that i know myself not very well.
Knowing where you come from on the other hand,makes you identify yourself with a certain culture.You can not tell me that globalisation can make you cease to be a European,certainly not!
Well, for starters I am not European! i am from Armenia but i study in Switzerland! Secondly, globalization influences our lifes more than we think! Lot of people go as far as even almost forgetting their mother toungue, notwithstanding to mention what might happen with mentality and culture.
I agree with you we live in a dynamic world but who said dynamism means forsaking culture,morals and beliefs?In my opinion dynamism has brought acceptance and tolerance of one another
Cultures evolve, eject some their elements, take on other ones, exchange, mutate..
Each and every society has morals and expected behaviour.But you can only know the standards of your society if you know your culture because that way you be able to know what is acceptable and what is not.
I think most of basic human values are universal and do not depend on the underlying culture or society.. Courage, integrity, etc.
H.
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Rick A. Weiss
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 26, 2006 - 09:01 PM
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I would like to point out that not once did you define culture. Anthropologists describe culture as having the following elements: It is shared, learned, contested and changing.
Many youths of our generation do not appreciate the importance of culture and identity.As a result we tend to compromise our positions.
Because when you know who you are and know where you come from ,you will definately stand on what you believe in and you actually stick to your principles.
Lets face it friends, all these cases we hear of defilment,rape etc are mainly because of lack of culture and identity.
By saying that many youths of our generation do not appreciate the importance of culture and identity, you are just speaking of another culture, the culture of apathy.
Defilement and rape by community groups (such as infant rape occuring in South Africa) is a culture as well. It is a learned belief or behaviour that is shared among members of the community, contested by others in their community and destined to change.
You are using culture synonomously with tradition. Culture is much more than that and while tradition typically is associated with the ideas of authenticity and history, culture is continually contested and evolving.
What you are asking for is compassion and responsibility to one's community. Learning from mistakes of the past is important, but the world is changing more rapidly than it ever has, and is presenting new and unique challenges. By forming new community bonds, and giving rise to a more inclusive culture, where ethnic diversity provides us with knowledge and tools, rather than barriers, maybe we can solve some of the problems globalization has unearthed.
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MUBBY
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THE MEANING OF CULTURE
June 27, 2006 - 10:19 AM
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There's no standard defination of culture.According to the BOASIA POSTULATES, culture Is,
'The system of shared beliefs, values ,customs,behaviour and artefacts that members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning.'
McKenzie Wark explained the meaning of culture as
1.A wardrobe of signs people put out to each other indicating where we are coming from and what we are about. A way of marking out what makes us different
2.Culture is about the different ways of knowing who we are and who others are.This indifference allows intermingling of different cultures.
3.Culture can be open or closed to different behaviours and attitudes
Culture is a set of signs and rules for use that signal how we might differ from another.As such there are ethical and political questions at stake as to how open or closed a particular culture is to different behaviours and attitudes.
4.Culture is a whole way of life,a structure of feeling. This gives the sense that culture is something learnt, perharps without really being aware of it,yet it shapes the your awareness of things around you and how you react to things.
5. Despite that culture uses rituals and artefcts to sustain its coherence across space and time,it is not reducible to those artefacts and rituals.This means that understanding culture is not a matter of reading its' texts'.One has to follow them around to see what uses and abuses they are sujected to in everyday life.
6. Capitalism is a dynamic force in society,and the modern society it shapes is one where'all that is solid melts into air,all that is sacred is profaned'.Capitalism accelerates changes that culture has to try to make intelligible to its members.
As such a wide range of people have come to focus on culture.,because it lends continuity and meaning to lives that are otherwise battered pretty hard by rapid economic and social change. Culture has become the focus for attention as Capitalism increases the pace and scale of change people have to adapt to .
Culture makes use of artefacts and ritual to pass on notions of Identity .
It does so under the extraordinary pressure of modern division of labour,which fragments people's experience,such that people are always negociating a culturalpolitics that allows different bits of identity to coexist. sounds impossible!BUT it gets harder when culture finds itself circulated and negociated.
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Rick A. Weiss
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
June 27, 2006 - 01:44 PM
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I agree that culture cannot be universally defined, because doing so would in itself be culturally biased towards one or another set of beliefs which are not universal. I offered a general description, but not really a definition.
Culture is about the different ways of knowing who we are and who others are.
I would like to adjust the wording of that portion of the quote as I see it being exclusive and innapproriate. Lets say "Culture is about the different ways of observing who we are and who others are". The difference is subtle yet profound. Observations are not fact, and differ between individuals depending on their own expectations.
Simply put, those on the outside looking in, see a very different picture than insiders. Through questioning what one thinks they know about their own culture, one is led to question their knowledge of other cultures. Once there are questions, one can begin to seek the answers and form a more well rounded view of cultural interaction.
This post was edited on: 2006-06-27 at 01:45 PM by: riko027
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1source
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
August 12, 2006 - 06:15 PM
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It's all in the NAME
Truly knowing who you are and how to culturally define yourself as a free iving man ,lawfully gaining a livelihood, is one of the most obscure pieces of wisdom ever concieved. This piece below and linked to will offer insight for those questing after a rational explanation for what they feel is wrong about their culture and identity.
Your name is used or money and this info will statrt the awakening process.
Watch the movie called the Matrix and know that this information is down the rabbit hole viewing only.
Your name is a most valued commodity and if not guarded will be swiftly taken and used for gain.
Accumulated research concerning the use of all or full capitalized letters for proper names; i.e.,
JOHN JAMES SMITH as commonly substituted for John James Smith in all court
documents, Driver’s Licenses, bank accounts, Birth Certificates, etc.
Is this some special English grammar rule or style? Is it a contemporary American style of English? Is the use of this form of capitalization recognized by educational authorities? Is this an official judicial or U.S. government rule and/or style of grammar? Why do lawyers, court clerks, prosecutors, judges, insurance companies, banks, and credit card companies always use all capital letters when writing a proper name?
What English grammar experts say
One of the foremost authorities on American English grammar, style, composition, and rules is The Chicago Manual of Style. Their latest 14 th Edition, published by the University of Chicago Press, is internationally known and respected as a major contribution to maintaining and improving the standards of written or printed text. We could find no reference in their manual concerning the use of all capitalized letters with a proper name or any other usage. We wrote to the editors and asked this question:
"Is it acceptable, or is there any rule of English grammar, to allow a proper name to be
written in all capital letters? For example, if my name was John Robert Jones, can it be
written as JOHN ROBERT JONES? Is there any rule covering this?"
We received the following reply from the Chicago Editorial Staff:
http://ecclesia.org/forum/uploads/bondservant/ALLCAPSP.pdf
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Svo
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
August 23, 2006 - 03:39 PM
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Many people freeze a certan period in history and call that their culture, we can not contiue living in the past because it takes nowhere but do not get me wrong i believe in culture because it dicatates or behavouir whether good or bad. We should only allow culture to play a small role in our lives but not dicate us. We form our own identity through our religion, our beliefs, our charcaters. So people think carefully about your cultur and think is it really necssary for you and your future??
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Hilary
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
September 1, 2006 - 09:03 PM
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I think knowing one's own culture and identity is important but also appreciating that in a world that is fuelled now by globailisation that there your culture is continually changing around you and to be able to absorb that change will help in being able to form your identity and confidence in your beliefs and actions.
Furthermore I think it is important to be able to appreciate other cultures for their contributions and also to recognise the obstacles they face in order to understand the situation they may now be in.
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Talaya White
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
September 11, 2006 - 08:26 AM
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I don't think that a lack of culture is the cause for current horrors. I think it is a lack of emotion that has come to be the culture of dominating systems. We are supposed to act as machines, because people think machines are more efficient than humans. Machines don't have feelings (at least not that we are very good at percieving), and so neither are we. I believe we are trying to feel something, but as a community have forgotten how. So we do terrible things to ourselves and others, trying to dig up some remenant of emotion, any emotion, any feeling, in ourselves and others.
If you look at the things we are having problems with, they all seem to have something to do with this. Cutting and other self-mutilation is a problem in the States at least (I can't validate for elsewhere), discipline in schools, beatings, rapes, suicides, murders... where is the emotion? We are like machines, because we are told to be, but we still have human need for feeling.
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Rajesh
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Re: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
November 14, 2006 - 09:47 AM
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You don't have to accept others culuture, but respect them.....
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