Cultural Identity

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Originally Posted by Babbalanja

No, it's not. Students understand physics to some extent, physicists to a somewhat greater extent, and geniuses like Einstein and Hawking to a much greater extent. Part of this understanding is realizing how much there is left to discover, and systematizing a plan of inquiry. But all faith does is assume certainty, and do away with doubt. There's no ongoing plan of inquiry, just reinforcement of what we already believe.

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As it so happens, I've met Stephen Hawking a few times - he's a friend of a friend, so to speak. And I can promise you that, as far as he is concerned, there very much is an "ongoing plan of inquiry" - for him, his intellect and research tells him that we've only began to scratch the surface.

As for Einstein, he was famously agnostic... although he rejected the concept of a Christian, law-giving god, he believed there was some form of intelligence behind creation... He was a Deist, if you like.

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

:confused: Gracious, how do we keep doing this. Our talks on the religious thread keep getting turned into cultural discussions; and our cultural and sexual discussions keep turning into religious ones:rolleyes:

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Anyway, my cultural identity depends more on my views than my background. I was born in Scotland but live in the USA. Now to my relatives I'm the yank, but I'm not considered fully American here.

There are a lot of immigrants in my family, too. My wife's family emigrated from Hungary during the revolution, and my sister-in-law came from Kenya. I live in a neighborhood where a lot of people are from Latin America. I speak Spanish, but a lot of the neighbors are suspicious of a gringo who speaks español.

I'll admit I'm always surprised at the level of religiosity in America. My Scottish relatives are all nonbelievers. It seems any negative comment someone makes about religion makes Americans paranoid and petulant.

Regards,

Istvan

I find that certain immigrants get integrated much faster by the society. When people come from France to Quebec, the public perception is that they are already almost "one of us." They speak the language and have essentially the same values for the most part. However, there is almost as large an anti-immigrant backlash against North Africans in Quebec as there is in France. I say almost because I've been told by a few North Africans that they came to Quebec from France because the French are con and find Quebec more accommodating.

Within two or three generations any European immigrant is fully accepted as Canadian, but many of those descended from the Chinese immigrants that built the railway 200 years ago never seem to be able to get away from that heritage. They are at most in the eyes of the public "Chinese Canadians".

To an extent we have the ability to shape our own cultural views, but so much of what we define ourselves by seems imposed on us by the views of our compatriots.

cultural identity? can we discuss it with new eyes? I'm above nothing and noone and being simply a human being, know not what your judgements value or not. Belief is axiomatic to identity that is self-subscirbed. My cultural identity is more British than American (colonial), not all by choice but by upbringing etc. of an English bent.

I'm not an immigrant, nor am I native. Am I like the mulatto who asked whether they should fill in the blank for black or white? Their word for genetic identity was "oreo", but there was no blank for that.

If I choose to believe as a christian, I have done just that. The nebulous word "faith" has nothing to do with it. Saying that I'm "nearly a Canuck" probably doesn't mean much to those who can't identify with it. They just stare and ask where I'm from and think they then know my cultural identity.

I feel Sam Clemens' statement about not belonging to any group that would have him as a member may be appropriate here. If I am assimiliated in a new area, it's not because I became something or one that fit in, but because of the willingness of others to incorporate more than themselves in a cultural identity. happy trails.

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Originally Posted by gbrekken

cultural identity? can we discuss it with new eyes? I'm above nothing and noone and being simply a human being, know not what your judgements value or not. Belief is axiomatic to identity that is self-subscirbed. My cultural identity is more British than American (colonial), not all by choice but by upbringing etc. of an English bent.

I'm not an immigrant, nor am I native. Am I like the mulatto who asked whether they should fill in the blank for black or white? Their word for genetic identity was "oreo", but there was no blank for that.

If I choose to believe as a christian, I have done just that. The nebulous word "faith" has nothing to do with it. Saying that I'm "nearly a Canuck" probably doesn't mean much to those who can't identify with it. They just stare and ask where I'm from and think they then know my cultural identity.

I feel Sam Clemens' statement about not belonging to any group that would have him as a member may be appropriate here. If I am assimiliated in a new area, it's not because I became something or one that fit in, but because of the willingness of others to incorporate more than themselves in a cultural identity. happy trails.

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When it comes down to it, we all have an identity of one with overlapping circles of commonality with millions/billions/trillions, if we consider people who lived in the past as well.

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Originally Posted by Virgil

When it comes down to it, we all have an identity of one with overlapping circles of commonality with millions/billions/trillions, if we consider people who lived in the past as well.

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Ha, technically the amount of people ever to have lived on the Earth and still living today is around 10 billion, 6 billion of those being alive today :p

The point is taken though.

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Originally Posted by soundofmusic

Our talks on the religious thread keep getting turned into cultural discussions; and our cultural and sexual discussions keep turning into religious ones:rolleyes:

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Seems like we have a flair just for that! :-/

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

Ha, technically the amount of people ever to have lived on the Earth and still living today is around 10 billion, 6 billion of those being alive today :p

The point is taken though.

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Oh thanks. Only 10 billion. Interesting.

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

Seems like we have a flair just for that! :-/

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:lol: I thought I was quite civil. I even said "you're welcome." :D

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Originally Posted by Virgil

Oh thanks. Only 10 billion. Interesting.

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It varies based on who you talk to, if you count estimates of infant death and you start estimating humans from 1 million years ago you get like 100 billion. A lot of unfortunate children have died in the history of the Earth.

If you start around 50,000 years ago and count only humans who live to adulthood, then you get around 10 billion. Either way, it's under the trillion mark :p.

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Originally Posted by OrphanPip

It varies based on who you talk to, if you count estimates of infant death and you start estimating humans from 1 million years ago you get like 100 billion. A lot of unfortunate children have died in the history of the Earth.

If you start around 50,000 years ago and count only humans who live to adulthood, then you get around 10 billion. Either way, it's under the trillion mark :p.

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Thank you. I did not know any of that. :)

[QUOTE=Babbalanja;806489]. I live in a neighborhood where a lot of people are from Latin America.

I'll admit I'm always surprised at the level of religiosity in America. My Scottish relatives are all nonbelievers. It seems any negative comment someone makes about religion makes Americans paranoid and petulant.

I enjoyed your post and appreciate your dilema. I was born and have lived all my life in America; so when I stayed in England, I was shocked to find that these very formal strangers would ask me the most personal of questions. After a simple cup of tea they would talk about our president, our priests, and all of our little scandals. I, personally found it rather refreshing and very amusing thinking of the brawl that would occur in the wrong bar in the states. I then realized the basic difference between Americans and British. British people discuss things as if they are on the outside looking through a microscope at a petri dish. Americans discuss things as if they are on the petri dish being examined. :lol:

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Originally Posted by Scheherazade

So what is the make up of your cultural identity?

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I'm from emigrating Germans in the 1850's with a strong Lutheran tradition (like Annamariah). With German still spoken at home in World Wars where Germany was the enemy, cultural assimilation has been slow in coming.

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Originally Posted by Lokasenna

"I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

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Imbibing existentialist philosophy in my late teens, I believe, for the most part, in Kierkegaard's God. The existence of my God is a given, and His overarching manifestation is love. God acts out of love but how He acts is for him alone: my sole concern is to act out of love myself.

As for science, it says so little on acts of love!

I neglected to mention a very imporant part of my identity. I was raised on a farm. Cash crops only after about age 10. It's a background becoming more and more unique in the world.

I'm from working class stock - my relatives were miners and farmers. My dad worked on the motorways in the 60's and 70's - M62/ M1. Then he became electively unemployed for the rest of his life, and so I suppose I'm also from the unemployed underclass of the 80's too.

I'm a city boy, I grew up in Wakefield - population around 60,000 in Yorkshire, and have always lived in cities, though I wasn't au fait with large cities in my teens - once when the rugby team I played for were contemplating a match in London I suggested that we just might happen to see one of our mates, who lived in London, in the pub afterwards...
So I suppose I'm urban.

I was brought up atheist if anything. The only time I went to church was the harvest festival at school. It did leave me open minded, which I feel has been a great plus for me.

I then became interested in Buddhism, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, and I attend classes today. So Tibetan Buddhism has had a powerful influence upon me.

Now, due to my job as a Literacy Programme Manager, combined with my graduate and post graduate qualifications, I am middle class. I still appreciate those working class traits that are positive, and I can bring them to bear, and I still have a Yorkshire accent.