The Beauty in Diversity

All cultures have different expectations from the people in them. They all have “different moral codes.” This is discussed in the article “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” by James Rachels. It is time to accept that not everyone is going to have the same rituals. Darius, the king of Persia, realized this when he saw that the Greeks would always cremate the bodies of those that died, while the Callatians would eat the bodies of their dead fathers. This brings up the question why can is be considered “okay” in some societies and completely repulsive in others. I think that the quote the article starts out with describes this situation perfectly, “Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits.” Everyone bases off what is right and wrong because of how their society sees it, in most cases. Some people will think outside of the box and make up their own minds about what is morally accepted. People get the idea that the culture they are part of is the best one there is, as if it is the only way of life. If people would start to accept that there are differences and there is no way of changing it, but we could just open our minds and realize that it IS okay to have differences. People get so caught up in the world they live in and don’t bother to look at what is outside their lives.

This reminds me of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo wants to be the best of the best in his town, but when he is forced to leave he has to realize that things are done differently in other places. He is afraid of change out of everything, when things begin to run differently upon his arrival home he does not know what to do. The Christians have taken over and the things that used to be important don’t really have any more value. It does not matter to them the amount of titles a man holds, or how many wives he has. Okonkwo is unable to deal with this change, and unfortunately it leads to death. I think this is a good example of what would happen if no one accepted change. If we all were hell bent on living our lives our way then there would be no room for change, and we definitely would not be living in the country we are in today.

It is important to be open to changes around us, even if they do not seem like the best choice. We need to learn to accept that everything is not going to be the same forever, and why would we want it to? However, I do not think that it makes it okay to push cultures on other people. I am a Christian, but I do not agree with those that go around preaching it on others and saying that if you don’t do it this way then you will go to hell. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. We should listen to what others have to say before making our decisions about other cultures, and until we recognize that people ARE allowed to have their own opinions and way of life we won’t get anywhere.