It was Hiedegger, or one of his kind, who said that prejudices (pre-judgments) cannot be avoided for most people, but the trick is to get the right ones. I would equate prejudices with culture here, as you seem to have done, since prejudices are cultivated. The words “culture” and “prejudice” are neutral, and if we take food, shelter, and dress, for example, these are mostly determined by the environment. So, to promote these outside of a locality is often absurd, and that would be a negative prejudice in that instance, but positive within the locality. How do we avoid the promotion of local culture into another environment? Cosmopolitanism? (“When in Rome” attitude?) I recall that early Christian missionaries to world natives everywhere encouraged over-dressing in the tropics, and teaching the “missionary position” along with romance and strict monogamy. Such violations seem to be colonial in nature, if even culturally so without force. America exports culture, but not officially the culture in power in America (hip-hop for example).
Nicely put.
Hmmm, yeah… yeah, I can see that behavioral archetypes could have a positive effect within their own region…
When in Rome indeed…my solution is to quit thinking in terms of culture as it seems pretty empty to me… a blank check from the bank of prejudice.
That America exports culture, it certainly seems to be the case as many foriegners have told me, “You’re so American.” What the hell does that mean? Nothing, to me. Why can’t they just say what they mean? Do they mean I value material wealth above all else? Do they mean I like peanut butter? WTF? “Yeah, well you’re so european.” A lot of good that would do, because I wouldn’t know what that means either.
My boss: “We Danes…”
My cowerker: “We Brits…”
Another coworker: “We Chinese…”
Bullshit.
hapa
But my lifestyle doesn’t, you see. I largely disagree with much of mainstream America. In fact, I have had a hard time finding a single person who fits into mainstream America.
Again, perhaps its the company I keep.
It was Africanus who said, “Nothing human is foreign to me.” Pretty much summing up cosmopolitanism.
It does seem that low culture (ritualistic) is limiting for political reasons that favor those in power, which always makes a fool out of tradition, and often assists in the enslavement of entire populations who are paralysed without ritualistic control. Of course, having a flexible political “priesthood” helps to adjust, like in early modern Japan, but the shoguns eventually failed them too. I’m thinking maybe that no matter how weird or obscure a closed culture is, it only serves its own past needs and alienates the alliances it requires to thrive. China is a good example, it seems like a slave ship today compared to its former glory.
Arthur Koestler on HERESY:
“Some tribes [of monkeys] have taken to washing potatoes in the river before eating them, others have not.
Sometimes migrating groups of potato-washers meet non-washers, and the two groups watch each other’s strange
behavior with apparent bewilderment. But unlike the inhabitants of Lilliput, who fought holy crusades over the
question at which end to break the egg, the potato-washing monkeys do not go to war with the non-washers, because the poor creatures have no language which would enable them to declare washing a diving commandment and eating unwashed potatoes a deadly heresy.”