Culture is not something that we are born with. It doesn't come naturally to us like breathing, but it becomes so influential in our lives that it is almost as natural as breathing and eventually leads us to naturally identify ourselves with it. But, is "culture" something you have or something you do?
Culture is learned, and it is not inborn or instinctive. The most common way of learning is active and repeated participation, and because of this factor, I lean towards saying that “culture” is something that we do.
Considering using "culture" as a verb instead of a noun - "culturing," because it truly is an endless and ongoing activity. As we practice certain customs and follow certain traditions, we are showing others the values that we've learned from a particular culture. Our understanding & expression of our own culture will continue to change and develop based on our thoughts and decisions throughout different stages in life.
"Have" has the connotation that culture is something you can hold on to, that it’s comparable to an object. Since I do think that culture is an ongoing activity, I did not feel that considering it to be an object was fitting to its definition. However, I also realize that culture is something that you can lose. How can you lose something if you didn’t have it in the first place?
Do you feel like culture is something you have or something you do?
No comments:
Post a Comment