Which leads me to think that there are some scenarios where it may be necessary to deviate from normal cultural practice and 'act out' a little; to momentarily 'sacrifice' cultural norms for one sec to protect it in the long run.
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I understand the pride and desire to be consistent in upholding traditional values, but I think of 'if you're afraid to lose the small things, you risk losing everything'. For ex, if cultural artifacts are being stolen, you're going to have less to protect in the future
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It would be nice if everyone could stay true to their ideals (however defined) but it may be far more beneficial to actively navigate and shape reality by being strategic- then you'd have the power to protect yourself and what you deem valuable/precious?
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I agree with Les Brown’s “someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality” - but as a black man he surely also knows that there are ways in which other people’s assumptions about you *do* shape your reality in dangerous, threatening ways beyond your influence
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This makes me think of something a Dutch guy once wrote on Twitter after outlining some very... specific... cultural norms:
"We are a very tolerant people... so long as you do what's expected."
May as well have been describing Norwegian culture, for that matter.
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What you end up with is a sort of Popper-esque intolerance of intolerance.
It sometimes gets oversensitive, and does do some collateral damage, but e.g. homophobia and (outright) racism become relatively less common.
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Oh how does this work? Like no one challenges them because of a reluctance to speak up/ go against the status quo?
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No. Norwegian people just have an overpositive view of their own country. Very unlikely to see problems.
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Oh so it's a sort of blindness! The opposite of Singapore then- sees problems everywhere, but doesn't care due to jadedness, overwork, conditioning...I'd say it's a self-defense mechanism along the lines of 'if you don't expect things, you can't get disappointed'.
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Interesting how different places emphasise different human dimensions- who doesn't want to focus on the good, who doesn't want to protect themselves?
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Yeah. I wonder at the mechanics that control that stuff. I'm usually pretty good with piecing together individual motivations.
Why societies turn out the way they do seems much more opaque.
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I have a hunch that historically, resource abundance vs. scarcity plays a big role, but I haven't really read anything that supports it.
Nor looked for it.
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Yeah different places would also have different types of resources, as well as threats depending on geography. I suppose like personal interactions, societies are shaped by their neighbours and relationship histories (peace/war, damage sustained, how and what kind)