Celeberating our cultural heritage

Academia Academia
Michelline Nawatises

We are told and taught that by respecting the traditions, beliefs and social behaviour of other people, it will promote tolerance and the world will be a better place. The problem with culture is that it is often based on age-old customs that don’t necessarily fit in today’s world. And once these sacred pockets of cultural constructions become impervious to scrutiny and criticism, it creates a stagnant breeding ground for backward thinking.

When most people think about culture, their first thoughts involve race or ethnicity. Culture goes far beyond that, however. In fact, we are all members of various cultural groups and our cultural identities develop based on the influence of these memberships. Like most things that make you who you are, the development of your cultural identity is an ongoing process.

As we are exposed to different sets of beliefs and values, we may adopt other cultural beliefs that were not part of our original makeup. In this way, culture is dynamic and complex. In addition to race and ethnicity, our cultural orientations are influenced by gender, class, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual beliefs, age, and much more. The individual is a complex mix of many cultural influences woven together. It is, therefore, impossible to define a person by a single cultural label.

To further complicate matters, our cultural histories are filtered by individual psychological characteristics and experiences, ensuring that even those sharing cultural similarities are truly unique. Culture is a system of shared beliefs that are used by a society in order to interact with the world, as well as with each other.

Often, we think of the food, music, clothing, and holidays that are shared by a group as their culture, but these are only some of the elements. Other elements include customs, values, behaviors, and artifacts. Culture is, therefore, a combination of thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs shared by those of the same racial, ethnic, religious, or other social group.

Many of these groups we are born into, such as racial and ethnic groups, and others we choose, such as religious or political groups. Many of us move between groups, adjusting our ideas and beliefs as we grow and learn. Those who go through cultural shifts may adopt new customs, but they will also retain elements of their previous cultural experiences.

How to Be Culturally Responsive

Being culturally responsive requires openness to the viewpoints, thoughts, and experiences of others. This is not about changing others to be more like you. Instead, it is about exploring and honoring the differences of others. Developing a cultural- responsive attitude is a life-long journey.

Understanding your own cultural makeup is the first step to understanding that others hold different values and beliefs and believe in them as much as you believe in yours. Learn to appreciate and value diverse views. Do not judge views that differ from yours as wrong. Instead, just accept that they are different and even try to understand other points of view.