Culture is Relative

Culture is relative to scope. It can be as confined as a family in one home or the extended family. Beyond, culture can be as unconfined as a worldwide acceptable norm. A business unit, a school, or community, any group can have its own culture.

What is Culture?

According to Wikipedia, maybe not reliable, but interesting: Culture is the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies.

Because culture is a social construct, it is what it is. A common saying up in New Hampshire and Maine, “It is what it is,” doesn’t mean anything, but could mean many understandings among people in new England. How it is said and by whom, their relationship to one another and to the task or event at the moment matters. It often means “shrug” and move on with life.

Culture is subjective and objective. It isn’t constrained to any norm itself because it is a compilation of norms. Culture is the determinative factor in whether or not anything is normal, acceptable, but also whether or not we are well, satisfied, content, and living a life that is pleasing to our creator. It is just as determinative to whether or not we are unwell, frustrated, agitated and living a life of despair apart from His love.

Who’s to Say?

My grandmother became a nurse to support her children. She also had a high ACE score or Adverse Childhood Experiences. They are common, but when you have them in categories of disfunction or abuse, life through adulthood is harder. ACEs are and always have been, with varying degrees, a part of life on earth. They seem especially prevalent in some cultures. She had some unique perspectives about life on earth. She had gone through all kinds of abuse, some quite severe.

The culture that I grew up in held that abuse was bad, but not talked about under severe threat and repercussions. Who decided that? Where did that kind of norm come from? How can we change that, because it still happens and may be getting worse than ever before in our country. The dehumanization of people can only be seen up close, but the cultural acceptability is worldwide. My grandmother said that it came from the pit of hell.

To What Ends?

The extreme result is disregard for human life. Children being discarded and child sacrifice has been a cultural norm before in various places. Human beings are not held in high esteem just based on the fact that they are human. Our culture places a high emphasis on being worthy. People earn love and acceptance. You might be lucky enough to be born into a family that has a culture of love and connection with your family, but outside of that, you must prove your value to most people.

If a mother decides that she doesn’t want her baby, she can have him or her killed, as long as it is before anyone other than the people doing the abortion can see them. Many reading declare this unacceptable in their circles, but across the globe, with few geographic exceptions, abortion is available.

I can see that human beings are created in the image of God and that destroying them is abhorrent in the Bible. There are people who can demonstrate, in the same Scriptures, that the creator of life has no command to protect the smallest and weakest among us. We decide our culture. Each of us, within our sphere of influence, determines how others are treated, if the are protected, what value is afforded to them.

What Kind Do We Want?

Culture is determined by the adults of the culture. They are the directors of the fate of the people who are within they sphere of influence. It is very interesting that young people are revolting, but to what? They are agitated, discontent, and they want change, but that has always been a part of the world. Not every kid in every family revolts, but many of the milestones of human development require stepping into new roles and recognizing the world around us. This recognition compels us to want change.

For some the Instagram culture of perfection draws attention to personal limitations or may inspire growth. Social media isn’t the problem. The culture we create in the lives of children will not only shape them, but also perpetuate that culture. Its expansion or contraction is only as accessible as our relationships and influence.

Media is an enormous part of the culture in a micro and macro sense. Derogatory language, violence, including sexual violence, lack of compassionate responses, and disregard for the lives of other people in a lot of modern music shapes those who listen to it. This kind of influence is everywhere.  We have to choose not to listen. The culture that is depicted in so much of the music can be very detrimental to real human beings.

How to #BeTheChange

I volunteer at a week long day camp. We have about 300 campers, from 5 to 12 years old. There are 45 or so, teens who lead camp as the Big People. Big People meet through the spring tp prepare for the events. In over 25 years of involvement, I have seen the culture from one camp experience to another. Some years, the commitment and excitement is palpable. Other years, the sense is that involvement is just a part of growing up in the community and they feel like they are expected to be there. A few people can make a huge change in the dynamic.

Have you every experimented with flow? Intervening doesn’t guarantee success, but a calculated approach can assure a degree of satisfactory results. Block the flow of water with a wedge and with the right placement the desired change occurs. The same kind of diversion is possible in groups. The wedge must be proportionate and appropriate for the task.

Instead of allowing a negative direction in our conversation and behavior, we can decide to find the compassionate response. Waking up with a to-do list of kind deeds and positive interventions; complimenting, serving, giving, praising, sharing, and thanking, for example. Reach out to hurting people. Smile when you enter the presence of others. If you are a believer, pray for good outcomes in the lives of everyone within your sphere of influence and ask God to show you how you might be His hands and feet. If not, think good thoughts and if you aren’t sure, ask Him to show up and prove His existence in your life.

I hope you’ll try. What ways do you suggest?