Culture shapes us but does not define us
Summary
- Culture or upbringing shapes us, but does not define everything about us
Details
- When thinking about people, acknowledge their culture or background, but do not use it to classify people as each person has their own unique viewpoint and knowledge
References
Quotes
Hurston defied the lazy way people today classify others according to their group. Today, in our identity politics world, we are constantly reducing people to their categories: Black/white, gay/straight, Republican/Democrat. It’s a first-class way to dehumanize others and not see individuals. But Hurston, through her example, shows us what the true task of opening your eyes to others involves: How do I see a person as part of their group? And how, at the same time, do I see them as a never-to-be-repeated unique individual, bringing their own unique mind and viewpoint?
If I tried to see a person like Zora Neal Hurston without seeing Black culture, that would be ridiculous. But if I saw her only as a Black person, that would also be ridiculous.
And you have to manage both these things at a level of high complexity. One of the great fallacies of life is to think culture is everything; another great fallacy is to think culture is nothing. I’ve found it helpful to start with the idea that each of us exists in a state of givenness. Each of us can say, “I am the receiver of gifts. I am part of a long procession of humanity and I have received much from those who came before.” But people are not passive vessels into which culture is poured; each person is a cultural co-creator, embracing some bits of their culture, rejecting others—taking the stories of the past and transforming them with their own lives. To see a person well, you have to see them as culture inheritors and as culture creators.