Do we define our culture or do we let our culture define us?
From Merrium Webster's Medical Dictionary: 'culture' (n.)
-"the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations
-"the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group"
Since the family unit is one form of social group, we discover the existence of 'family cultures.' If you want to shape society, shape the family. It is in the home that we lay our foundations.
The great British prime minister Winston Churchill said, "We shape our environments; thereafter they shape us."
I add: And they have the potential to shape us as well as our posterity for many generations. It is in our families that children learn from a young age what is acceptable, how to interpret non-verbal cues, and even definitions of words. Development of moral conduct and personal interests begin in the home. To belong, to feel needed and loved or accepted, is a basic need of mankind. We tend to associate with those who we have most in common. We long to be validated; when we receive approval in a particular belief or action, we most often allow such truth, lie, or preference to become a part of us.
Change is a necessary part of continued healthy development. While some changes are not always the best, it is to our advantage to at times be challenged in those things we once accepted. It is when we no longer feel validated externally or internally that we initiate personal change in the respective interest. If challenged where a dramatic change would be required, the individual often becomes stressed to frantically find new sources for validation. If none can be found then the individual either may either experience negative emotions or choose to accept the challenge for accommodation.
Cultural diversity: good or bad?
It is common for individuals who experience a 'culture shock,' as with immigrants, to feel at first overwhelmed and confused. However, when personal family upbringing of what is right or wrong is questioned, individuality is strengthened, having to decide with whom they now agree on a specific subject and to what culture and traditions they wish to carry pass on to future generations. Those who choose to change a particular family tradition or behavioral pattern is called a transitional character.
So I suppose the real issue is that individuality must be kept in its proper place. We are here on earth to learn from and teach one another; at the same time, we are also here to support and encourage one another.
What experience or thoughts do you have to share about family culture and what relationship it has with our personal identity?