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A Follow up Discussion
Coming from you as a student of anthropology, I thought your post was a great wake-up call. You brought up a fantastic idea that I must confess spoke the reality of our world today: “Pretty much anywhere you go you can hear someone talk about their desire to travel, to see the world.” It is true that the world is fast turning into a global village. However, I have experienced the fear of being judged and their culture overlooked that less dominant cultures have in such a world. As you clearly states it out: “It’s challenging to do, to study another culture without making any judgment or comparison.” Irrespective of such difficulties I believe there is a need to abandon selfish attitude of greater appreciation of one’s culture and instead pursue cultural tolerance and togetherness. The idea of being genuinely culture-conscious as presented by Ruth benedicts, therefore, places a generation at an advantageous point of thinking independently together. Irrespective of difficulties associated with studying another culture without making any judgments, one must try to maintain a holistic approach while looking at other cultures. As you presents it: “It seems to me that this idea of being ‘genuinely culture-conscious” could have prevented most of the conflicts that humans have had with each other for centuries.” I thought this was an accurate interpretation. It awakened the need to acknowledge that fact that peaceful co-existence is a function of how people are willing to respect ideas that are not necessarily in line with their beliefs.
All in all, I thought your post and all the interpretations of Ruth Benedict’s teachings were incredible. It awakened a much-needed need to look into other culture with pristine eyes since it brought a lot to the table. I loved how you concluded with a thought-provoking question: “How do we educate our children with good cultural sensitivities when the concepts that she’s speaking about are so clearly incredibly strong in our country?” I appreciated how well you seemed to notice the underlying initiatives that we must make as we seek a world where all cultures are recognized equally.