Culture is the sum total of our ancestors. It is what our forefathers taught us.
It is what we carry forward from our previous generations.
Culture can be defined as a set of tasks, which after being repeated a number of times, with time being the greatest teacher, has been accepted by us as a way of life.
People learn from mistakes. People adjust themselves. People adapt to different situations. People change.
Culture is defined by the people.
Culture changes.
Everything in life has it's own cycle. Everything has its ups and downs.
Normally people tend to bank on tried and tested techniques. Most people would like to live life in a low risk environment.
Where they can feel safe and secure. That is why people bank on tradition. That is why people bank on culture. After all it's the culmination of what we've learnt from the past.
The problem with culture however is that even if a solution works it might not be the best one.
This is why culture changes.
As mentioned in the audio clip, this is due to the intermingling of cultures.
Now this intermingling of cultures is supposed to preserve the positive aspects of the base culture, overriding it's negative aspects with the positive aspects of some other culture.
But, who is to say what is good or bad ??
Say, for example, I believe that belief in God helps one to focus in life.
To another person it could be a waste of time, as he might have done something productive in that period of time.
With this amount of doubt existing at the lowest level of reason, it is no surprise that when one culture tries to get rid of it's negatives, it could get rid of it's positives as well. When it tries to accept the positives of others, it could accept the negatives of others as well.
Today's world is constantly changing. Tried and tested techniques are being thrown out of the door as newer, better ways of doing things are coming up.
Does this mean that culture has no role to play in today's world?
Culture never had a role to play in the present. Culture is always created in the past and applied in the relative future. As our thoughts become more free, so does our culture.
The culture created yesterday has an effect on us today. If anyone wishes to tell me that people are not behaving in a manner which does not reflect their culture, then in my opinion is wrong.
Everyone acts, already having the burden of culture in built in them. Whatever decisions one makes, it is knowing whatever happened in the past. If any mistakes are made, they will be corrected by future generations.
That is the beauty of culture.
Culture is the way we think, the way we do, the decisions we make.
Culture is human nature, on a slightly personal basis.
Everything we do today is based on human nature.
The world will change
So will culture.
The topic of todays speech was the implications of culture in todays world.
Todays world is a result of culture based on yesterday.
Tomorrows world will be a result of culture defined by today.
Don't worry. Nothing you ever do will be against your culture. It will be a result of your culture.
