(Untitled)

[ellen_denham]

I feel the need to weigh in on something that has been bugging me, in part because a recent post of mine agreed with some of writer Elizabeth Moon's thoughts on gender bias in publishing, and then she went and posted something with which I emphatically do not agree.

For context, her original post is here: Elizabeth Moon on CitizenshipAnd here is

Comments

[sartorias]

The dominant culture has pretty much always said what was valuable, and adapted or adopted what they wanted (Romans adopting Etruscans' customs, and Greeks, and then changing what they wished . . . and in this country, we adopted a few Native American foods and customs and pretty much obliterated everything else)

But if we want wars and so forth to stop, then we have to learn not to do this. Geez, when I was a kid, the goal of Americanizing the world was regarded as a good thing.

[shweta_narayan]

when I was a kid, the goal of Americanizing the world was regarded as a good thing.

There have still been many people who argued that it is a good thing, and tried to convince me of it.

[shweta_narayan]

I'd be saddened to think our ultimate goal would be to end up as some homogenized, boring society where anyone with minority cultural traditions felt compelled to keep those traditions to themselves.

Yeah -- or to lose them entirely, as tends to happen within two generations when one cannot practice one's culture. Culture is practice.

[justinhowe]

Sounds like a great experience all around.