Western Culture: The Affliction of Individuality
As we know it, Earth has been in motion since the beginning of time, and it’s been subject to this time. With every revolution around the sun; a day has passed. With every day, Earth has given rise to the desired authority and initiator of change, both beneficial and harmful — humankind. Throughout the ages, humankind is brimmed with diversity and from this diversity family and culture bloomed into fruition. Family and culture are eternally intertwined, and while peaceful coexistence is the intention, they endlessly mar each other leaving behind permanent scars. The disfigurement of past generations envelopes today’s generation, thus defiling the future generation, whom silently witnesses the carnage persist. With every revolution, with every day, and with every human change is propelled forward into tomorrow by yesterday’s scourges and their revelations.
Western culture, specific to the United States, is a picturesque example of the contention which can occur between family and culture, and the consequences from this consistent struggle. It’s not surprising, when Western culture is spoken of, a variety of conflicting emotions can surface depending on the individual’s relationship with the culture. However, the ambivalence about the United States is unique, due to the country’s roots and what it has developed into. The country is young in comparison to others, and the majority of it’s citizens are not original natives, but rather immigrants from around the Globe. This ultimately has resulted in the United States standing out from other countries, as it has brought forth a culture comprised of other cultures. The original reason for this massive migration can be simply identified within the pledge of allegiance, “… one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Yet, this iconic phrase is teeming with irony and hypocrisy because the flag which represents it, has in the name of the Christian God been plunged into the soil drenched with the blood of the Native Americans.
As many people are aware, the United States was not immediately founded upon Christopher Columbus’s historically recorded discovery of “The New World”. Nevertheless, it was founded on top of the Native American demise. Originally, the United States belonged to the English whose culture brought “… disease, alcohol, brutality and treachery…(HistoryWorld)” upon the Natives. According to William M. Denevan, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,“…scholars provides population estimates of the pre-contact Americas to be as high as 112 million in 1492, while others estimate the population to have been as low as eight million.” With this information and the current total population of 2.9 million Native Americans, it can be calculated there has been a population decrease anywhere from 4.1 million to 109.1 million.
It can be argued the Native Americans weren’t innocent of hostility towards the English and although this may be true, it is also true the English were historically the first to strike out against Native Americans. According to HistoryWorld, “The English settlers arrive with the firm intention of owning land… ‘and eventually’ strike first, employing the ancient technique of treachery. On June 1, 1586, the Indian chief Pemisapan and other tribal leaders are invited to a council on the shore of the Croatan Sound. As they approach, they are shot.” Unfortunately, the English may have struck first but when the United States became it’s own country the mistreatment of the Natives still continued when “in 1787 Congress defines the region as the Northwest Territory ‘and’ all land within it is to be sold in lots, either to individuals or companies (HistoryWorld).” The dilemma is this land was home to Native Americans who although fought, would eventually be forced to succumb to the westernization of “The New World” which was once their homeland.
This is a brief summary of the history the United States of America founded itself upon. It began with the English who not only brutally murdered natives, but also forced them to become slaves and follow their Christian beliefs. Then the mistreatment continued when the United States of America fought for and gained it’s independence. This is where the irony and hypocrisy is found. The United States claimed to be “…one nation under God…”(the Christian God), and yet they gained their independence by deliberately disobeying God’s Word. In 1 Peter 2:13–14 it states, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to the governors, who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” Even with the awareness of the expansive history behind the Revolutionary War, none of it excused non-Biblical separation of the colonies from it’s King. Furthermore, the United States claimed “…liberty and justice for all” and yet they gave no justice or liberty for the Native Americans who lost everything but themselves.
Today, the Native Americans are still left in the shadows. According to National Congress of American Indians, Native people die at higher rates than other Americans from tuberculosis, alcoholism, diabetes, vehicle crashes, injuries and suicide. Westernized Culture emphasizes one thing — Individualism, and the first victims were the Native Americans. The second victim was politics, the third victim was religious organizations, and now the family is the next target. The family is at risk for disunity within the Westernized culture of the United States. This culture’s individualistic nature has slowly seeped through the centuries poisoning every aspect of functioning society, and family is now being infiltrated.
The Westernized family is now becoming less defined as it could be any combination of people living and developing together. Activities which unify a family today are usually involved with media whether it’s a movie or a television show. This is innocent and enjoyable for everyone involved; however, media is overflowing with individualism. It’s unnerving to think activities meant to bond a family are unknowingly establishing selfish ideologies within each member. The same selfish ideologies which victimized the Native American culture. Thus, the dilemma begins when different families who have different cultural backgrounds take on the individualistic attitude of westernized culture. This will result in a society where each individual has such a strong sense of self-preservation and importance there is no consideration of how their actions to create personal fulfillment will effect another person.
If there is one prime example of just how individualistic our society has become it’s abortion. It not only emphasizes importance on one life over another, but it is a form of desecration on the family unit. There are those who would argue with me that abortion is not murder, but biology does not lie. The process of meiosis is complex, but a fetus contains half of it’s father’s DNA and half of it’s mother’s DNA. This is a living organism, made up of cells which without interference from an outside source will develop and create an adult human being. Westernized culture has emphasized individuality to the point a mother can decide her life is too important to be bothered with another life. A life which she not only created but which her body is biologically built to sustain and protect.
As a Christian, I think God has not only made it clear in the Bible how we are to treat one another, but also how the family unit is supposed to be. In Mark 12:30–31, Christ commanded “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” I firmly believe Christ would not be pleased with Westernized culture as it emphasizes the “self” more than the “other” which in the process has lead to a lack of love shown within politics, religious organizations and family.
In the end, we can look back on history and see where westernized culture began, where it has taken us and where it will take us. It’s a prime example of how culture can infect the family unit, and in return the family unit contributes at the demise of society’s future. There is a popular quote by George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The past of the United States exemplifies the result individualistic attitude had on the Native American culture, and it is an injustice which today is ignored and neglected. Now the same individualistic attitude which almost obliterated a group of people is targeting the family unit. I think it’s time we stop, look at our family and ask ourselves, “could we be where and who we are today without them?”
References
“The American Indians.” History World. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.
Denevan, William. “The Native Population of the Americas in 1492: Second Revised Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. N.p., 01 Mar. 1992. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.
“Native American Indians.” The History of Native American Indians. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.
“Demographics.” National Congress of American Indians. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.
