Every year a famous actress appears on TV screen complaining on how small state cultural funds are. By 'culture' she means mainly the theater and other forms of entertainment activities. This is a common western society mistake.
For me this is an outrageous declaration. Entertainments, be it a classical or a rock concert or even some ball game, are not defined as culture. They are, at most, a small part of the larger complex concept of culture.
There are many definitions for culture. One definition states that: 'Culture is a set of values, reflecting people behavior'. Another definition states culture as: 'A system of values, ideas, and behavior patterns, shared by all members of a particular community, which are transferred by a process of social learning to the next generation'.
In my opinion, a civilized person is a person who has respect for the others, even if he is not a frequent theater attendance. The complaining actress on the other hand, will not count civilized, if she does not respect those who happened to disagree with her.
Humanity evolution (see 'evolution' article) is of a dual nature. Human race marvelous achievements could only realized by cooperation of the individuals in a society. This could not be achieved without a common culture. Living in a society force the individuals to compromise in order to benefit.
This is why I chose to discuss culture as the delicate balanced rules controlling the interaction between the individual and society.
Hence my definition of culture is in a nutshell- 'The conduct of individuals within a society in which they live'.
This includes rules governing the conduct of an individual to other individuals, and rules of the individuals behavior in society.
All other etiquette of culture - as tradition, art, clothing, customs, etc', are included.
those other aspects of culture are used as glue that unites the people into a united community. Different communities has different culture, much like different people have different characters. A person which is born and live within a certain community acquire the way of thinking and behavior of its culture. Thus the essence of the differences between cultures, is the balance point between what the individual gets from society, and what he must contribute back to it.
The best culture ever will be a culture defining rules of conduct that allow the community to prosper, building a stable society, while allowing better life for the individual.
In my eyes, civilized people behave according to their cultural code, even if they have no personal gain, and if they do not fear punishment. Anyway, I think the most important rule in this Utopian culture must be 'freedom of thought that releases the person from the tyranny of brainwashing. People who lack independent thinking, tend to behave like herd of sheep (see 'The man who did not want to be a sheep'). They tend to worship their leaders, oppose changes, and highly respect rituals. There is no difference between the advertising brainwashed secular, and the religious on this subject.
This was never better expressed than by the prophet Isaiah: "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. “
Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. “
Parents, and educators around the world are irritated to see their youth tempted by the comfortable emptiness temptations hedonistic Western culture. Abandoning in the process the values of their own culture. In their view the predatory Western culture uses media brainwash led by internet technology and television. The impact of these trends towords western culture, are increased tenfold compared to the cultural influence practiced in the past. Characteristics of this influences are:
There are no restrictions of geography, making it difficult for a culture to close the borders and limit the incoming influences, as was possible in the past.
There are no restrictions of society classes. In the past only the upper class had the required education to read the invading culture books. Today almost everyone has access to the influence of Western culture.
There is no age restriction. Young children has access to the influential media. In the past one could limit access to people older in age, when a person has already assimilated his own culture, acquired experience and perhaps a degree of independent thinking, all of which gave him a certain resistance power to foreign influences.
This flood of television culture can be agreeable for people of the western culture, but pose conflicts with other cultures. Brainwash of the new western culture is very dangerous to maintain another culture. The west does not have to conquer territorially, to 'educate' grownup and children alike as was done in the past. All it has to do is 'conquer' the air broadcasting communications. It can be that part of the reason for the rise of radical Islam is due to Islamic reaction to this invesion.
Western culture trends of extreme liberalism tends to emphasis individual rights (citizen rights) at the expense of the contribution to the community. In fact liberalism crumbled the national fabric of social solidarity threatening community collapse.
Islamic culture presents the opposite extreme suppressing all individual freedom and prosperity, in the efford to establish a caliphate , the Muslim 'Uma' governed by Sharia laws - Islamic religious law, all over the world . Muslims divide the world into two parts :
Dar al-Islam' (in arabic language 'House of Islam'). Islamic califat where only Muslims live, practicing Islamic religious lows. Non Muslims have to convert or die, with the exception on religious Jews and Christians who can live as second grade, humiliated, citizens.
Dar Al-charb'(in Arabic 'House of war'). This is all land outside the islamic califat. Muslims are expected to conquer and turn into the califat.
There are no restrictions of geography, making it difficult for a culture to close the borders and limit the incoming influences, as was possible in the past.
There are no restrictions of society classes. In the past only the upper class had the required education to read the invading culture books. Today almost everyone has access to the influence of Western culture.
There is no age restriction. Young children has access to the influential media. In the past one could limit access to people older in age, when a person has already assimilated his own culture, acquired experience and perhaps a degree of independent thinking, all of which gave him a certain resistance power to foreign influences.
This flood of television culture can be agreeable for people of the western culture, but pose conflicts with other cultures. Brainwash of the new western culture is very dangerous to maintain another culture. The west does not have to conquer territorially, to 'educate' grownup and children alike as was done in the past. All it has to do is 'conquer' the air broadcasting communications. It can be that part of the reason for the rise of radical Islam is due to Islamic reaction to this invesion.
Western culture trends of extreme liberalism tends to emphasis individual rights (citizen rights) at the expense of the contribution to the community. In fact liberalism crumbled the national fabric of social solidarity threatening community collapse.
Islamic culture presents the opposite extreme suppressing all individual freedom and prosperity, in the efford to establish a caliphate , the Muslim 'Uma' governed by Sharia laws - Islamic religious law, all over the world . Muslims divide the world into two parts :
Dar al-Islam' (in arabic language 'House of Islam'). Islamic califat where only Muslims live, practicing Islamic religious lows. Non Muslims have to convert or die, with the exception on religious Jews and Christians who can live as second grade, humiliated, citizens.
Dar Al-charb'(in Arabic 'House of war'). This is all land outside the islamic califat. Muslims are expected to conquer and turn into the califat.
I myself wish to live in a culture based on principles of the Jewish culture the way I understand them. In essence they are: 'providing a balance between individual liberty and individual, and the limitation imposed on him due to his integration in community'. This way the individual person and the community in which he lives, both flourish.
