Summer Night’s Dream
Acrylic on Canvas, 26” ato 32”, Gold Frame, $498
We are afloat in a world that has changed. The systems we grew up with in comfort are no longer applicable for a blended society that spans the globe.
The Anthroplogist’s Way
In college I majored in cultural anthropology, a pursuit my parents thought was one step up from useless. Since they assumed I would get married rather than travel the world to live among exotic tribes, they were not worried and never complained. They were right since I did get married at 18 and was a mother at 21. I never did go to the outreaches of Nigeria where I hoped find an unstudied people who would carry me to fame and fortune.
Looking back, I realize that I could not have made a better choice of major. Anthropology taught me a great deal and continues to guide my thoughts. It helped me understand how each person is culturally tied to the world from a unique vantage. And, though we reside within communities, our individual struggles make each of us the center of our own universe. We peer through tinted glasses shaded by family, community, economic conditions, and our own experiences.
Yet, with all of our differences, societies are similar in that they are organized around common systems. To understand the interrelationships between individuals, groups and institutions we studied beliefs and ways of organizing. The systems are identified as:
-religious
-political
-family
-economic
-social classes
-racial diversity
-gender roles
-ethical values
-distribution of wealth
These categories create an exchange of energy that defines the whole. Every society has them yet in each they differ.
Once I realized that societies have similar organizational needs, I reasoned that ego-centricity is the main cause of tension between cultures. The more I learned, the more difficult it became to define a particular system as good, better or best for it was created relative to the totality of everything in the environment.
I thought of how clothing can define a culture, yet they most likely were designed to accomadate a particular climate and habitat. For instance, those living in a Middle-Eastern desert would need to cover head, face, and body for protection from sandstorms and the burning sun. After realizing that these garments work well in harsh conditions, it is probable that the fashion was spread by nomads to nearby towns and cities. Since men and women’s bodies in Middle-Eastern countries are fully covered, their garments may also have contributed to ideas about morality and modesty. Of course, this is speculation on my part, but it makes some sense.
My high school history books talked about how ancient societies of hunters and gatherers slowly evolved to live a more agrarian existence. Further readings explained how pregnancies were welcome, for multiple births insured the group’s survival. Childhood diseases and accidents were rampant before antibiotics and deaths frequent. Hunting was dangerous and farming families needed many hands to till the land.
Today’s world has different challenges. Augmented farming methods give us the ability to feed more mouths with less need for labor. And though the birth rate has slowed in industrialized nations, population still increases in poor countries lacking resources. When a warming climate and war impacts those living in poor countries, families suddenly find that there is not enough safe, fertile land and drinkable water to survive. They are forced to migrate and come in conflict with strange organizational systems and beliefs.
Migrants as well as those in communities that accept them as immigrants become confused, don’t understand cultural differences, and have conflicting feelings about the ways “the others” view the world. The centers of their universes are now overlapped, causing tensions that can even lead to war. It happens quickly, with little time to accommodate.
Systems that previously worked well become suspect as migrants try to provide input even though most of their ideas are frowned upon by the dominant society. Few of us want to change. We hold on to our beliefs as though they are etched in stone forever more. We scream, fight, belittle, and say that we will not move away from what we have always known. We prefer to remain in a childhood comfort zone.
Time does not stand still and migrants do influence change. Societies constantly and painfully reorganize systems that mix cultural norms. The pushing and shoving, giving and taking that goes on around us is exacerbated by war, climate warming, population growth. Eventually a synergy results from this blending of cultures and people slowly adapt.
There are no absolutes. As mentioned earlier, we each see things from the center of our own universe. Einstein spent his waning years looking for a unified theory of the universe. His search for one unqualified, universal truth remains an unsolved challenge. We may never know absolute truth and for now, at least, have to deal with uncertainty and chaos.
What this means for most is that we must constantly question and realign systems as new input is received. It involves investigating beliefs and allowing that there are conflicting views that may be valid but we may never know for sure.
My parents would be surprised to discover that an anthropologist’s way of looking at systems might help different cultures coexist ccompassionately. By exploring common needs around food, water, land use and population perhaps rational decisions can be made to reorganize systems to benefit the majority.
Let’s also agree that it is OK to disagree when it comes to items of religious faith and embedded customs that do no harm to others. To live on this earth together, we have to bend a bit.
bend a bit.References:
1. Definition of Socio Cultural Anthropology, http://www.cod.edu/dept/anthro/cultural%20anthropology%20definition.htm
2. Noakes, Zoe, Why do the Poor Have Large Families? Compassion, January 2011, https://www.compassion.com.au/blog/why-do-the-poor-have-large-families
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I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com