Reflection
Culture
Luke Johnson
Professor Lauren Carter
3/29/15 Being Part of a Culture

If someone was to ask me what it takes to be part of a culture an array of different thing float in to my mind. Maybe I must hold certain religion. Perhaps I need to live a certain way. Or are there physical appearances that I must conform to? All of these and many more traits can build a certain culture. Political believes and even time can build cultures in peoples mind. Culture in general fascinates me because if one actually things deeply about the topic of culture it can really summarize the entire human race. Cultures can be distinguished by tangible items like cooking, clothing, or maybe housing but also non tangible ways. Our lives are built upon cultures and we are free to follow any we may choose as our world is a mosaic of them.
I used to believe being a part of a certain culture must involve an overall general following of the preset stereotypes that humanity has placed on it already. For example to be part of the “tech culture” one is most likely to assume you know basic programming, or use reasonably new technology regularly. Another example would be if I told you I was part of a class based cultural ideology, you may assume I place cultural groups apart by using currency as a separation of cultural levels. I personally believe myself to be of an American culture which in a sense is naïve and immature as there is many various cultures that are American as I am. Therefore I feel culturally I am a mix of many cultures that are often pigeon holed into certain stereotypes and country based ideals. Many will disagree with me that separating different cultures is fine but I worry that sometimes it can create problems as seen through history. For example in the 1940 Nazi Germany used the Jewish Culture as a means to destroy their race and society. The creations of the “Alpine” and “Nordic” races had deep roots in the supposed supremacy over Jewish culture. The Cultural racism that eventually turned in horrific torture and death among millions of innocent people shows the danger of placing people in cultural boxes.
If I were to find an appropriate place to put someone in a particular culture I would look into the persons personal beliefs, morals, intellectual capabilities, and any other traits that set him into a member on the society he resides in. Cultures are special because it gives the world a sense of individualism that is only created when people experience cultures that are of their own. In some cases certain aspects of cultures cannot be attained due to laws of regulations of the society that the person