Culture isn't "real". (part 1)

That got your attention. 

There are obstacles to work around on the way to 'One World for One Human Race'. Language. Religion. Geography. Culture. Let's talk about culture.

When we think about culture as art and dress and food and music, we love culture. Cultural diversity, in that sense, is cool. But culture is also social mores, behavioral constraints, gender relations, tradition, and many other serious things. These are the things that trip us up on the road to One World. Socialization is a powerful force, and learning the cultural traits of your home society has a strong influence on you the rest of your life. Look up culture in the dictionary, Merriam Webster for example, and you'll read that culture is the passing on of customary beliefs and social forms to the next generation. We don't pick our culture. It is given to us by our parents. It is an accident of our birth. In the real world that has positive and negative effects. It provides us a frame of reference, allows for continuity, gives us an identity. On the other hand, as a friend recently told me, "Kids are kids no matter where they grow up and with whom - all human. They all laugh, they all cry, they all burp, and they all feel pain. Adults teach hate. If we all understood that we're one world, things would be so different - no?"

The thing is, most of our cultural traits are arbitrary. There isn't anything at the core, it's just the way things have developed over time. At the core, we are all human beings. If a Bulgarian child is adopted by Asian parents in Toronto, she's not going to exhibit Bulgarian traits. She'll always be a human wherever she lives. 

Of course culture is real, in fact, it is universal. Culture exists, or has existed, in every known human society, past and present. Culture matters, but culture is not immutable. Culture should not be allowed to be a dictator.

In our increasingly integrated world, cultures are going to rub up against each other, and oftentimes there will be nasty consequences. It was ever thus. So what should we do about that? Understand. Experience. Open. Empathize. Educate. I am not a Clash of Civilizations proponent. I want One World.

I hope to explore culture more fully in future postings. What do you think?