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Sure, prefer your culture, and practice it. Just don't pretend that others are impeding on your ability to do so when they are not. Don't pretend. That's all I am asking.Of course you can have preferences for culture. Literally every human in the world has such preferences.
Given what I said, why is this question even relevant in your eyes? Can you explain why you asked me this? I am genuinely curious.Would you be equally happy to live in Afghanistan where girls can get shot for going to school and women have to marry rapists compared to Switzerland?
Again, what is "cohesion?" Everyone being generally the same or everyone working together? Which of those two things seems more important? Do you at least concede that you don't necessarily need the red bit to have the blue bit?And some degree of cohesion is needed if you want healthy communities with support for a strong welfare state where people are willing to make sacrifices for the greater good.
Yes, and part of that cognition involves people thinking that their culture is themselves, or that it represents some huge part of "what they are", and that mentality sees them believing that it is of the utmost importance, and that anyone who has any criticism of their "culture" is actively attacking them. Part of that cognition is also active in people believing their "culture" to be better than the culture of others, more important, or more necessary. Perhaps the ultimate problem we face is where people get ideas like this in the first place, and these ideas aren't going to be found abating in a climate where talk like yours is the norm. Like hinting that "consistent culture equates to cohesion". Culture is as important a difference between people as are hobbies. No more, no less. Can you hold it against your neighbor that he is an avid bird watcher? Sure. But do we understand feelings like that to be his problem, or yours?Unfortunately we have to deal with the reality of human cognition.
This is a huge part of the problem. You aren't your "culture". Just as you aren't your "religion" and you aren't your "hobbies". We are human beings, first and foremost. All of the rest of that stuff is just noise. Noisy noise, to be sure... but that mostly has to do with people with opinions like yours.Our identities as much rely on who we define ourselves against as they do on who we define ourselves as.
As long as people like you keep talking in the ways that you are, yes, I agree, a pipedream held by those who can see through all these ridiculous religious/cultural/racial trappings for being just fluff and mundanity. Yours is a juvenile response, in my estimation. Esteem yourself as you will.The idea we can live as one global happy family is a pipe dream and that it is desirable is a very culturally supremacist byproduct of (secularised) monotheism.
Your opinion, entirely. And I know, because my opinion is completely different. I believe the goal should be to educate everyone as much as possible, and try to give them perspective on the meta-structures of the human realm of activity. See "what's under the hood", beyond all the arbitrary trappings we apply to ourselves in order to call ourselves "[insert label here]".The goal should be how to live peacefully in a world where we dislike many of the inhabitants.
And that's a fun system by your estimation? Not in need of any sort of updates/changes/fixes?Fear of being ruled by those we dislike is a major cause of strife (see US party politics).
But sense in trying to work toward otherwise, if possible, I feel. Sounds like you've given up.No sense in pretending otherwise.