Greetings, Craig --
Ham, I wonder if diversity of values rather than diversity of culture is at issue. Consider 3 people: A: a white, attends opera, enjoys NASCAR, celebrates Christmas & believes that the government should force each citizen to be responsible for others. B: a brown, attends opera, enjoys NASCAR, celebrates Christmas & believes that each citizen is responsible for themselves. C: a black, attends hip hop concerts, enjoys street jammin', celebrates Kwanza & believes that each citizen is responsible for themselves. A & B share a culture, but not values; B & C share values but not a culture. You want to be in the audience with A & B, and at the polling place with B & C.
I think you are confusing behavior with "culture" and beliefs with "values", and trying to split the difference, whereas Value is really the basis of both.
Thus, if A and B attend opera and enjoy NASCAR, music and competitive racing have value to both. I assume that "celebrating Christmas" implies a religious "value system" for A and B, as well. The basic difference between A and B would appear to be political -- an intellectual or socially-influenced persuasion that I can't account for from the information provided. However, since C values individual responsibility in common with B but not A, my first inclination would be to question the integrity of A's value system. Also, since Kwanza is a cultural rather than a religious celebration, C's value-system may be less aesthetic than A & B's, particularly as "hip-hop and street-jammin'" are more expressive of cultural values than a love of music. (Otherwise, I don't see the skin colors as relevant to your argument.)
It's an interesting premise, Craig; but since culture and beliefs are both derived from values, diversity of behavior is a manifestation of different stages in the development of value-sensibility or the orientation of that sensibility itself. In my opinion, religious and political beliefs are nurtured by our cultural associations and intellectual sophistication, but are ultimately rooted in our proprietary sensibility to value. And in this respect we are all unique.
Essentially yours, Ham Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
