I agree with anthropologist Ruth Benedict when she states that we are “creatures of our culture” and that our habits, beliefs, and impossibilities are shaped by our culture. The reason I agree is because as we develop and grow as human beings, we watch and learn from others around us and we create our own identities. Through our eyes (interpretation) we see things a certain way and that’s how we perceive that is how things are and should be. This is embedded into our actions, beliefs, values and morals, this is what forms us into the type of people we become. My person habits and beliefs come from what my family and my culture have taught me. The things that I have been expose to within my culture and family is morals, religion, beliefs, tradition, education and so forth.
I also believe that if we truly want to we can also break free from our cultural norm. My family is fairly traditional and they have certain beliefs and values set forth for everyone to follow. However, I think that I have broken away from that social norm in the perspective that I have continued my education to obtain a college degree, instead of settling for a high school diploma and then moving onto work. By looking at the way other cultures other than mine do things gave me a different direction on how I lived my life. I also think that educations has a big impact on the outlet of breaking through the limits of our culture, and also surrounding yourself with other cultures other than yours.
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Good point here. I liked how you mentioned our "interpretation" of behavior or of culture. I think many people miss this aspect. It's our perceptions of culture which is filtered through our experiences. :) My question is this: How is our interpretation shaped?
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