this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2024
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Don't be mean. I promise to do my best to judge that fairly.
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How would you define "culture"?
A living collection of microorganisms, duh!
:^)
I think I'd agree with that, but that's in reference to a person. A culture by definition must have its own cultural artifacts that aren't simply taken from another culture. There's also no requirement for those artifacts to be "high art". Nearly everything listed in the OP is culture. So to clarify, I ask what you mean when you say "a bunch of the things mentioned aren't culture".
I thought that was a British trademark. Foggy Albion and all that.
I think the implication is that the things you do with those natural features form a culture. Fireflies aren't culture, but catching them is. And besides, there are plenty more examples of culture in the post. But you are correct.
I reject the idea that something that originated in one society cannot become another society's culture. It morphs and changes, and is reinforced by the society until it becomes a part of their culture, too. Surely you would not say that tomato-based foods aren't part of Italian culture just because they came from the new world?
Does culture have to be original?
Also, having looked into the trick or treating thing a bit: Canada invented the phrase "trick or treat", and America has variations such as trunk-or-treating. Modern trick or treating doesn't involve performing at the door. Some of these innovations (ie. the phrase "trick or treat") have even propagated back to the originating countries. I think a binary view on this is too restrictive and unrepresentative of the reality of the situation. The tradition is still very similar to what it was, yes, but it changes over time.
This is honestly a pretty ignorant take on america and its culture. A lot of our culture comes directly from the places people immigrated from, mixed with the culture that already existed. After a few generations it amalgamates into the broader culture. Its constantly evolving (whether people want it to or not). Its quite the opposite of only knowing culture fron our own country. In fact, a statement like that makes no sense when you factor in how peoole got here in the first place