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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Enculturation



Enculturation

Nowadays, in Third World countries, we talk a great deal about "enculturation."
What is this thing called "culture"?
I'm not very happy with the word.
Does it mean you'd like to do something because you were conditioned to do it?
That you'd like to feel something because you were conditioned to feel it?
Isn't that being mechanical?
Imagine an American baby that is adopted by a Russian couple and taken to Russia.
It has no notion that it was born American.
It's brought up talking Russian; it lives and dies for Mother Russia; it hates Americans.
The child is stamped with his own culture; it's steeped in its own literature.
It looks at the world through the eyes of its culture.
Now, if you want to wear your culture the way you wear your clothes, that's fine.
The Indian woman would wear a sari and the American woman would wear something else, the Japanese woman would wear her kimono.
But nobody identifies herself with the clothes.
But you do want to wear your culture more intently.
You become proud of your culture.
They teach you to be proud of it.

Awareness
Anthony de Mello

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Words value



Cultural conditioning

Something more about words.
I said to you earlier that words are limited.
There is more I have to add.
There are some words that correspond to nothing.
For instance, I'm an Indian.
Now, let's suppose that I'm a prisoner of war in Pakistan, and they say to me, "Well, today we're going to take you to the frontier, and you're going to take a look at your country."
So they bring me to the frontier, and I look across the border, and I think,
"Oh, my country, my beautiful country.
I see villages and trees and hills. This is my own, my native land!"
After a while one of the guards says,
"Excuse me, we've made a mistake here.
We have to move up another ten miles."
What was I reacting to?
Nothing.
I kept focusing on a word, India.
But trees are not India; trees are trees.
In fact, there are no frontiers or boundaries.
They were put there by the human mind; generally by stupid, avaricious politicians.
My country was one country once upon a time; it's four now.
If we don't watch out it might be six.
Then we'll have six flags, six armies.
That's why you'll never catch me saluting a flag.
I abhor all national flags because they are idols.
What are we saluting?
I salute humanity, not a flag with an army around it.

Awareness
Anthony de Mello