Re: CHAT: Which world? Which culture?

Costentin Cornomorus sikyal:

> --- JS Bangs <jaspax@...> wrote:
>
> > "America has no culture because we
> > throw everything away" is a meaningless
> > statement; what you mean is,
> > "American culture is a culture of throwing
> > things away."
>
> That's as may be, but I didn't say we have no
> culture because we throw everything away. I think
> we have no _greater_ culture - American Culture -
> because there's not much "shared territory". It's
> all little communities doing their thing. Who
> knows: maybe _that_ is American culture, everyone
> doing their little cultural thing unmolested by
> everyone else doing their own little cultural
> thing.
Fair enough. I would somewhat disagree even with that statement--probably
80% of America does 80% of the things on the Zompist culture test--but
it's not a big deal

> > I agree that our culture could
> > stand to be a lot more communal and sedentary,
> > but the fact that our
> > culture is not these things does not make it
> > not a culture.
>
> Well, if it ain't that thing, then it ain't that
> thing! Culture _is_ a communal thing; if the
> larger "community" doesn't have that kind of
> culture, then what it has isn't culture. At least
> in the usual sense.
I think we disagree over what the "usual sense" is :). My understanding of
"culture" is purely descriptive--it's the behaviors and attitudes common
to a group of people that act as common ground for all of those people.
That culture usually exists in community is accidental to me, not
essential.

By your definition, though, America as a whole has no culture. There's
very little national community, so how could there be? Most of our culture
(in my sense) is transmitted one-way through media, instead.

> > The point,
> > I think, is that corporate v. communal is the
> > wrong distinction: good v.
> > bad and healthy v. corrupting are more
> > important.
>
> Six of one.
In current practice, yes. But not necessarily always so.


Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/blog

Jesus asked them, "Who do you say that I am?"

And they answered, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground
of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of our
interpersonal relationship."

And Jesus said, "What?"