Religion and Ethics Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Sriram on May 07, 2023, 03:34:10 PM
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Hi everyone,
Today I heard a speaker commenting that European countries are fast losing their cultural identity because of various reasons. Cultural matters are also not getting the importance they deserve in society. Because of this, people are not feeling an emotional bonding with their own community and country. This could result in cultural degeneration and a 'sameness' among all people across countries.....which could create an emotional void in people, leading to lack of motivation and inspiration.
We humans need cultural roots that we can identify with and feel a sense of bonding with our community. While all humans are same....lack of specific identities could lead to depression and alienation.
Any views?
Sriram
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Sounds like they were supporting tribalism and racism.
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We humans need cultural roots that we can identify with and feel a sense of bonding with our community. While all humans are same....lack of specific identities could lead to depression and alienation.
Any views?
Sriram
Bonding with a community doesn't necessarily mean we need to all have the same cultural roots though. There are better ways to make a community. Regarding people as foreign because they have different cultural roots, is precicley the cause of the xenophobia that permiates parts of our society.
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There are certainly many and varied pressures on mental health in modern society. I am deeply suspicious of any analysis as simplistic as this.
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If anyone thinks I'm going to take up Morris Dancing they can fuck right off.
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If part of your identity comes from maintaining connections through generations and if change happens quickly because nuclear families get smaller due to family break-up or generational estrangement, some young people may end up being disassociated from certain cultural values and perspectives and in the process traditions are lost or changed. This probably leads to people feeling a bit emotionally lost and disconnected in the process - while positives can come out of these processes of change, there are usually corresponding negative outcomes as well.
Some might seek to replace what is lost with something else to anchor themselves. The something else will need time to take hold in society and be tested and adapted as problems are identified and resolved and new problems emerge.
Individual nature/ nurture probably leads to some people feeling energised by constant change and flux and not requiring a place to land, or needing a sense of familiarity or a foundation, while others feel lost, adrift or even oppressed by the lack of security caused by constant change in social values. This could have unintended repercussions if people are looking for quick fixes or easy solutions to complex problems of identity.
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Change is a constant, no doubt......but the rate of change can make a lot of difference. If change is too rapid and happens regularly in multiple spheres of life, it can lead to maladjustment leading further to depression.
Changes have never been as rapid in so many different aspects of life, as they are happening now. Add to this problems such as growing population, poverty, climate change etc. and it is a recipe for depression.
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Change is a constant, no doubt......but the rate of change can make a lot of difference. If change is too rapid and happens regularly in multiple spheres of life, it can lead to maladjustment leading further to depression.
Changes have never been as rapid in so many different aspects of life, as they are happening now. Add to this problems such as growing population, poverty, climate change etc. and it is a recipe for depression.
What has any of that got to do with the specific claim in your OP?
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We humans need cultural roots that we can identify with and feel a sense of bonding with our community. While all humans are same....lack of specific identities could lead to depression and alienation.
Any views?
Sriram
It could be said that communal identities can lead to suppression and alienation particularly if they are used to support a power structure. You only have to look at conflicting religious identities, political identities, national identities. Warfare could be seen as an extreme form of conflict between ideologies and are sometimes used as a means of wiping out rival identities.