Cultural diversity

[vanman]

Greetings all,
Since our country consists of such a vast cultural diversity,I would like to share the following with you, not only because it is unique but so very true.

“Dear Lord”
Our hands are different shapes,different sizes, different colours-And they hold different things.Some are empty , some are full,some are wounded ,some are old ,some are young.Each pair of hands is unique,Gifted and special.Created by you to give and receive-To hold and let go . For our own pair of hands,and hands that we hold ,We give you thanks.
Amen.

Makes you think doesn’t it?
Regards
vanman

[roswell1329]

That's an interesting quote, vanman, and I think it's an appropriate statement to define America. Mainly because it assumes that everyone believes in one god of some sort, and should be thankful to him for their creation. I'm really not looking to start any kind of confrontational thread, here, and I know what you were trying to do, vanman and it's commendable. I know you were probably not trying to offend anyone, but this statement kind of bugs me, and is in many ways a typical attitude here in the States. It completely ignores the existance of athiesm, agnosticism, polytheism, animism, paganism, shamanism, and even deism -- all of which occur to some extent right here in the great USA. All of which are usually neglected to appease the good old monotheistic majority. Not that this is very earth-shattering, after all, the US Congress in no way fairly represents the religious makeup of the United States. The only reason I bring this up is that the title of your post was "Cultural Diversity". Recognizing that different cultures exist in the US without recognizing the belief structures of those cultures is...well...silly.

[NeoAcid5000]

that is what makes the US one of the best countries, we have all sorts o' people and it takes all sorts to make the world go 'round!

[Spyder32]

That's a great quote and I'm the type of person who love's learning about other's culture's. The study of another's background, way of life, rituals, or anything different from mine is fascinating IMHO. I'm deeply saddened when people are too ignorant to look at other people's way of life and "judge the book by the cover". MultiCultural Day (forgot which day, I think it's in the Spring) is always a favorite of mine because trying the different foods, doing some learning, trying the customs, seeing the way of life, it's all fun for me. I'm very open when it comes to learning about another ethnicity, and I think many people should be as well, since after all, your culture isn't the ONLY one on this earth. Great post, vanman!

[Conf1rm3d_K1ll]

Originally posted here by vanman
Greetings all,
Makes you think doesn’t it?
Regards
vanman

Yes. It makes me think that even an online community such as AntiOnline isn't free of religous propaganda.



Perhaps we need a new forum- "Religon"

[mathgirl32]

Eek!! Politics...I swore I wouldn't get involved, but here goes.....


It is interesting to learn about other cultures - especially the foods and traditions! However, one thing that really bothers me in this country is the ubiquitous use of the descriptive phrase [insert-country-name-here]-American. Almost all of us came from another country at some point. While it's important to celebrate and remember our heritage and roots, I think we should spend less time "focusing" on our differences.

Why can't we ALL just be Americans ?? :-)

[Conf1rm3d_K1ll]

For someone who doesn't want to get involved you make a good point. Cultural diversity should be celebrated.......Anyway, I'm gonna leave this one alone. I just wanted to point out that I'm onto you, vanman......

[blakdeth77]

hah... hm... never thought of myself as "european-american" (stemming from a heritage of Norway, Germany, and Italy.). lol. Something I obviously don't put much thought to.

[zaggy]

Cultural diversity is a wonderful thing. What is not is racism.

Where I live it is celebrated that our city is made up of many different cultures. We have festivals here annually to celebrate the diversity. Unfortunately some feel that if you have a different color of skin, or come from a different culture, you are somehow less than human. Those are the people that have usually lost touch with their culture. They need to feel superior in some fashion because they have no culture to speak of.

All of us are made up of different cultures, some we are born with, some we are raised with, some we marry into, some we learn from friends. It really doesn't matter how we obtain culture. All that matters is that we appreciate our culture and all those that touch our lives.

My sister is born Romanian, she is raised Canadian. She goes to the Romanian club here in town and learns the culture she was born with, she also learns the culture she lives in. Does this enhance her life? I believe it does.

Almost all of us came from another country at some point. While it's important to celebrate and remember our heritage and roots, I think we should spend less time "focusing" on our differences.

Why can't we ALL just be Americans ?? :-)

We don't have to focus on differences at all, we should be able to accept differences as a part of life. Just as many of our opinions differ.

Just my $.02.

[spyrul]

ooh, this is one of those things that i always tend to get involved in, then get flamed to next week because i think differently than the vast majority of people. regardless, here i go:

to start it off, i'm atheist. it's my personal opinion that religion is silly, and if you step back and look at it, a lot of stories from a lot of religions are sort of... out there. i'm not trying to trash any religion, mind you. i think that the morals that most religious people hold are just outstanding. i really like the idea of caring for one another and giving and soforth as far as christmas goes, but i don't truly believe in Jesus or anything of the like. i celebrate christmas because it's a time to think of others, not because that's when a god i don't believe in was born.

but one thing that really bugs me about a lot of people is how damned proud they are of their country. i really have no idea why you should be. there was about a trillion to one chance of you even being born, and even smaller a chance that you would be born in the country you were. most people really have no idea how amazingly unlikely their birth is. i'm (sometimes) happy knowing i was born on this planet. other times, it pains me to think how happy i could have been had i been born on Mars with no oxygen, then to die a terrible death moments after my birth.

all pessimism aside, i don't see why people continue to set borders. all they tend to do is push people further away.

"i hate you because someone who looks somewhat like you or lives in the general area in which you live was an ass to me or someone i know once."

laugh at that as you might, but you know for a fact that it's true. how many people immediately started hating Iraq because Saddaam lives there, or Afghanistan because Osama resides in that country?

that's why i think the Internet is a great place to be. people will only hate you if you're an ass, which happen to be the only reason someone should be hated. i'd say that being an idiot would be another reason to be hated, but i guess that some people are just genuinely stupid and can't help it, so we therefore must be patient with them. the impatient should learn their patience with the new, the slow, and the stupid alike.

i guess what i'm trying to get to is that we should stop participating in acts which distance each other. no, i'm not saying get rid of anything that will cause you to be a conforming robot. remain an individual. just not to the point where you can't stand someone because they're not like you. that would be hypocrisy, which would be you making an ass of yourself.



well, this turned out to be a shapely little rant, hasn't it?