Self and Identity (SumBlog7)

Dan Mountford

There comes a time in everyone's life when they need to decide who they are, and who they want to become. W.E.B. DuBois's concepts of double consciousness and the veil were fascinating to me. Looking at someone, you can't always tell what cultures influence them, or what thoughts they're experiencing. I think this picture by Dan Mountford exemplifies that. You can look at the girl in the picture, and see her silhouette, but if you take a closer look, you can see that she isn't exactly what she seems to be. We can't tell what people are experiencing unless we take a closer look, or decide to get close enough to look through their eyes.  


People are a product of their culture. The experiences that everyone has are heavily influenced by the culture in which they were raised. It becomes necessary for us to remove ourselves from the situation, and try to conceptualize what the other person is feeling. W.E.B. DuBois felt this double consciousness when he was just a boy, playing with his classmates. He was raised in the same culture as them, yet he felt different. He was torn between between being African American and American. He felt these two identities deep within, because he grew up with both cultures. Couldn't the two coexist? The judgement we feel from others because of our differences can sometimes be explained by the culture in which a person was raised. Sometimes, people really just don't know any better. Ethnocentrism can creep in and cause prejudice and hate. 

Like the picture by Dan Mountford, each of us has many different levels and layers. Everyone has multiple different cultures that they've grown up in based off of family, race, school, or even friendships. It is unfair to judge someone off of first impressions or assumptions, because we really never know what is lying in the layers underneath the surface unless we dig in and get to know them.

Inequalities (SumBlog6)

My child,
We were walking, as we like to do sometimes. You were taking in the world, eyes wide and full of wonder. As we walked, we passed a busy street, filled with kids playing. As we drew nearer, we saw a group of kids making fun of another boy. They were yelling mean things, racial slurs, making fun of him because of the color of his skin. They pushed him down, and he fell to the earth, crying. You knew this was not right. You let go of my hand and ran to the boy. You picked up his glasses from the dust and wiped the boy's tear stained cheeks. My heart swelled with pride as you squeezed his hand reassuringly and told the boy that you would be his friend, no matter what. The smile on his face was too beautiful for words, radiating hope and joy. I saw a glimpse of your heart that day, and your love for others. And when we walked away that afternoon, I could tell you were thinking, your little brow furrowed in concentration. You looked up at me with those eyes and asked why some people are so mean to others.

How can one answer a question like that? Racial prejudice runs deep but I also believe it is taught. Your young mind hasn't experienced the hatred that can cripple someone's soul. Your innocent heart can't imagine hating someone simply for the color of their skin. Your small hands can't help but rush to those who need help. That is you. Untouched by hate and the inequality that causes us to ask: why? Why do people hate simply because of skin, or gender, or differences? 

My wish for you, my child, is that your kindness remains the same. I know that the world can be a cold place and you will encounter people that may hate you.  I pray that hate never becomes a value in your heart. Through the years, people may leave cruel marks on your beautiful heart with their remarks, looks, and laughs. But I hope you remember that you have value. Not because of who you are, or who you will become, simply because you are. You exist. You are you. You have a heart and a soul and a spirit. This is important for you to remember. But, it is equally important to remember this of others as well.You, that little boy, every single person in the world, all have value because you are human beings with thoughts, feelings, and dreams. I can't fully explain to you why people hate others based simply off what the eye can see, or labels they've created. But I can tell you that hearts like yours will change the world.
Love,
Mom

Religion and Capitalism (SumBlog5)

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Spain

Max Weber conducted a fascinating study on the relationship between capitalism and religion. He thought that religion lead to capitalism. This especially depended on the type of asceticism with which people were living. Innerworldly asceticism placed focus on living to succeed in one's lifetime. This would be measured by the amount of money one made and it was determined where one would spend the afterlife based off success. The second type of asceticism is outerwordly, where focus is placed on the afterlife, not on materialistic success. Weber saw the changes between innerworldly and outerworldly asceticism. He saw Protestants as more focused on innerworldly asceticism, as they tend to be more individualistic. Protestants believe in predestination, so they figured the way they could figure out if they were chosen or not to go to heaven would be if they were successful in a monetary sense on earth. Comparing Protestants and Catholics, Catholics tend to be more outerworldly. Therefore, a decrease in capitalism is found in predominantly Catholic countries, because they are more community focused and less individualistic. 

Though Weber theorized this difference years ago, it is still applicable today. We looked at a lot of different countries in class that perfectly supported his views. However, my group was focusing on Spain, and it was a split. Spain is a majority Catholic. Cathedrals are everywhere and most people will tell you they're Catholic. Half of the results supported Weber's theory, but the other half did not. Spain is still pretty individualistic. Why is this? The topic of religion as part of culture was brought up. Most of the people in Spain identify with the Catholic religion, but how many of them truly follow it? Being Catholic is just part of being a Spaniard. I think it's that way with religions in pretty much any country. Everyone identifies with a religion or belief system, but a lot of the time, you can't tell what someone believes because they don't act on it. I think it's important for people to ask themselves if their focus is innerworldly or outerworldly and base their actions accordingly. 

Ideals (SumBlog4)

Ideals. How often do we take a situation, daydream about it, make a perfect outcome in our heads and wait for that outcome that will never happen? I know I’m guilty of that. It's easy to get caught up in thinking how something should go or how it should have ended. Unfortunately, situations rarely ever turn out the way we imagine them, whether the result is better than what we expected, or worse. Most ideas in our society turn out that way or are born because of these ideals, as Max Weber claims. We idealize a concept and try to apply it, but it never quite works out the way we plan. A common example of this would be democracy. Democracy isn’t a tangible concept, but off it many countries have based their whole government. However, everything in reality doesn’t work out as smoothly as the idea of democracy does on paper. No perfect version of democracy can be found in real life, but it’s a model to which we can strive and try to implement. Each that has a democracy implements it in a different way. Democracy in America does not look the same as democracies in other parts of the world, but they are based off the same fundamental ideals. Ideals are just a concept. No two things can be exactly the same, and ideals just prove that.

We often have high expectations for ideals, what something is, and what something should be.  Is this harmful? Maybe. It is good to set goals and to strive for them, however, it can be hard to face reality if these goals are not met.

   

Most of the time, I tend to idealize situations with a more favorable outcome than should be expected. This can lead to disappointment. Most of the time, when something doesn’t live up to what we’re expecting, disappointment follows. While this isn't exactly the same as what Weber wrote about, it still applies in a sense. The subject of ideals and high expectations brought one particular picture to mind:

And if we did, we might just all be a little happier.