Uneven Ground
From the perspective of a teen in a world filled with injustice and constant newsflashes about racists and movements for equality, I’m trained to see things in tunnel vision. I’m trained to view my culture as the very “developed” and “civilized” United States as superior to other cultures despite its flaws. I’m trained to look down upon Middle Eastern countries as they are all “terrorists”. When I turn on the television I hear talk about this white policeman, that black policeman. However, at the exact same time, if any of these opinions were explicitly stated out loud, I would surely be called a racist, a Trump. In general, people tend to have a disposition to favor their own culture above others. When posed with the question …show more content…
Quite the opposite, I am arguing that cultures cannot be compared to one another at all. By culture, I mean the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. The first and foremost reason that no culture can be superior to others is morally, it is not right to put certain groups of people over others. The book Guns Germs and Steel by UCLA professor and celebrated scholar Jared Diamond highlights the idea that no culture is superior to another by emphasizing that given the circumstances of Europeans, any culture could have risen up to conquer the world. Whereas all people are created equal and have equal capabilities, not all people have equal opportunity, and the same goes to cultures. And opportunity is the key as to why all cultures are different. To quote Jared Diamond, “In short, Europe’s colonization of Africa had nothing to do with differences between European and African peoples themselves, as white racists assume. Rather, it was due to accidents of geography and biogeography—in particular, to the continents’ different areas, axes, and suites of wild plant and animal species. That is, the different historical trajectories of Africa and Europe stem ultimately from differences in real estate”. As it turns out, what ultimately gave rise to the European’s guns, germs and steel was their land, plants, and animals. Agricultural societies are much more efficient in that it allows for a surplus, which in turn allows specialist skills to emerge since not everyone needs to be a food gatherer. These specialist skills become the primary engine of societal progress and innovation. Another benefit is that agricultural societies live in close proximity to a diverse and dense population of animals. Furthermore, Europe is home to ..... This exposes them to and
From the perspective of a teen in a world filled with injustice and constant newsflashes about racists and movements for equality, I’m trained to see things in tunnel vision. I’m trained to view my culture as the very “developed” and “civilized” United States as superior to other cultures despite its flaws. I’m trained to look down upon Middle Eastern countries as they are all “terrorists”. When I turn on the television I hear talk about this white policeman, that black policeman. However, at the exact same time, if any of these opinions were explicitly stated out loud, I would surely be called a racist, a Trump. In general, people tend to have a disposition to favor their own culture above others. When posed with the question …show more content…
Quite the opposite, I am arguing that cultures cannot be compared to one another at all. By culture, I mean the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. The first and foremost reason that no culture can be superior to others is morally, it is not right to put certain groups of people over others. The book Guns Germs and Steel by UCLA professor and celebrated scholar Jared Diamond highlights the idea that no culture is superior to another by emphasizing that given the circumstances of Europeans, any culture could have risen up to conquer the world. Whereas all people are created equal and have equal capabilities, not all people have equal opportunity, and the same goes to cultures. And opportunity is the key as to why all cultures are different. To quote Jared Diamond, “In short, Europe’s colonization of Africa had nothing to do with differences between European and African peoples themselves, as white racists assume. Rather, it was due to accidents of geography and biogeography—in particular, to the continents’ different areas, axes, and suites of wild plant and animal species. That is, the different historical trajectories of Africa and Europe stem ultimately from differences in real estate”. As it turns out, what ultimately gave rise to the European’s guns, germs and steel was their land, plants, and animals. Agricultural societies are much more efficient in that it allows for a surplus, which in turn allows specialist skills to emerge since not everyone needs to be a food gatherer. These specialist skills become the primary engine of societal progress and innovation. Another benefit is that agricultural societies live in close proximity to a diverse and dense population of animals. Furthermore, Europe is home to ..... This exposes them to and