Does Culture Still Matter?
A while ago, I was assigned by my geography teacher to write a paper on whether or not culture still matters. I already know that almost everyone associated with lj knows that culture still matters, otherwise they wouldn't post any poems or short stories or anything like that, but, since I haven't updated for a very long time, I'm going to post it anyway.
In my opinion, culture does still matter. My reason for saying that is because, for one thing, through such things as literature, culture shows where mankind has been, and where it is. For instance, without such cultural works as 'Beowulf' and 'The Odyssey', people would not understand the mentalities and beliefs of those times, places and people as well as they do. And contemporary cultural pieces of literature, movies, or music show us a lot about people and places of today. Also, culture in the form of such artistic medea such as literature shows us a lot about human nature.
Another reason is because people can't explore without context. And culture gives us that context.
Culture also shows people's values. For instance, we can see that throughout history, people have valued freedom and unity. When we can see the values of mankind, we can see the direction that mankind should be going. In the instance of unity and freedom, people know that we should be following those values, so most people do.
Another reason that culture is still important is because an absence of culture harms the environment. To understand this you must first understand that culture is one's self in one's environment. Lepers stop taking care of their bodies because they don't feel part of their bodies anymore. Well, it's the same with the environment. If there is no longer a connection between the people and the environment, which culture provides, people will stop protecting their environment, and it will ruin it, even in a seemingly harmless way. People cut down beautiful trees all the time just for their own profit. While it has been know that cars can run on water, they still use gas, just for the profit of oil companies. Because so many people don't feel part of their environment any more they go on doing it.
The last reason is because culture unifies people. It shows that people of different backgrounds share similar aspirations. It also show how people of the same backgrounds have similar views and values. Finally, it helps people understand themselves and people around them. These considerations are all very important for te progress of mankind and in helping to achieve unity - one of the things that mankind should be pursuing.
In my opinion, culture does still matter. My reason for saying that is because, for one thing, through such things as literature, culture shows where mankind has been, and where it is. For instance, without such cultural works as 'Beowulf' and 'The Odyssey', people would not understand the mentalities and beliefs of those times, places and people as well as they do. And contemporary cultural pieces of literature, movies, or music show us a lot about people and places of today. Also, culture in the form of such artistic medea such as literature shows us a lot about human nature.
Another reason is because people can't explore without context. And culture gives us that context.
Culture also shows people's values. For instance, we can see that throughout history, people have valued freedom and unity. When we can see the values of mankind, we can see the direction that mankind should be going. In the instance of unity and freedom, people know that we should be following those values, so most people do.
Another reason that culture is still important is because an absence of culture harms the environment. To understand this you must first understand that culture is one's self in one's environment. Lepers stop taking care of their bodies because they don't feel part of their bodies anymore. Well, it's the same with the environment. If there is no longer a connection between the people and the environment, which culture provides, people will stop protecting their environment, and it will ruin it, even in a seemingly harmless way. People cut down beautiful trees all the time just for their own profit. While it has been know that cars can run on water, they still use gas, just for the profit of oil companies. Because so many people don't feel part of their environment any more they go on doing it.
The last reason is because culture unifies people. It shows that people of different backgrounds share similar aspirations. It also show how people of the same backgrounds have similar views and values. Finally, it helps people understand themselves and people around them. These considerations are all very important for te progress of mankind and in helping to achieve unity - one of the things that mankind should be pursuing.