If you think about it, this is how we view Amish people. Why do they refuse to use technology such as computers, pesticides, and processed goods? Why do they live and dress like 17th century pilgrims? We may see the Amish way of life as ridiculous; just as how citizens of the World State see a 20th or 21st century lifestyle as obscene and obscure.
Conforming is good or bad? Native Americans are stripping their original culture to make money with their casinos. They're losing their culture, but they're making money. Is there a healthy balance between staying true to yourself and doing what you "need" to do?
Mark, I agree with you. I don't know very much about Amish people, but what you said makes complete sense. In "Brave New World" the 'vintage' ways are considered absurd. People in Huxley's utopia live techno-style. They are so advanced, it's scary. If you ask me, the term 'savage' is WAY too harsh and it doesn't make any sense. To think that one day (if the world of Huxley was created) our current lifestyle could be considered savagely... that's sad. Who is to say who is a savage and who isn't... ?
ReplyDeleteI would like to agree with you Mark, but i can't.
ReplyDeleteThe society of Brave New World was raised to be ignorant of any other lifestyle other than their own. So when they came upon a different lifestyle they viewed it as ridiculous because they had been programmed to do so.
It's different in our world. Hopefully you have been taught or at least learned that tolerance of others is always necessary to learn about the world. It's not that we view the Amish as ridiculous it's that they view us as ridiculous. Their lifestyle choice reflects a simpler and more conservative time because they think our ways are obscene.
I just want to point out that although the situations are similar they are not the same. Rather than the technology-obsessed society looking down on the "vintage" one, the "vintage" society looks down on the technology-obsessed one. Or at least i hope you don't look down on the Amish. :)
Carina, this post inspires me.
ReplyDeleteAmish people are admired by me, they can do whatever they please without giving two craps what people think about them and I respect that, whether they practice or do things I agree with or not. It's their life. They live more secluded because they see the way we live the way you see them live. And as far as Native Americans go, Mark. I don't think they are stripping away their original culture to make money, per se. You see, I have family that are Indian/Native American and they own Casinos because that is what the European settlers owe them, the Euro's came out of no where, took the Native's land and claimed it as their own! The least they could do was give them some land, which is what they did. Which is why they own many casinos, and I don't know about you but if I was given a Casino to own I wouldn't let that slip away, it would support they way I feed my family and shelter my loved ones. Do whatcha gotta do to survive right? It's doesn't justify what the Europeans did but it might take a load of struggle off the rightly people that own the land. Although, there are many casinos in the U.S. that have nothing to do with Native Americans, (hence, Las Vegas) many still do. So I disagree when you say it's "conformity" because it isn't.
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean Carina. It's kind of like how people who exclusively eat organic foods look at McDonald-goers as nasty slobs. (Honestly, I don't like the thought of shoving chemicals, toxins, and additives into my system either).
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying I look down upon Amish people, because I respect their simple lifestyle of living off of what you only need. What I was saying (as Joey was also saying) was that they are seen as "absurd" in today's society; not everyone is understanding and tolerant. Humans tend to look down upon and reject what they cannot understand. For instance, they have probably been spoofed and prodded at on shows like "South Park" and "Family Guy". Most of us in our technology-based Western society cannot understand why the Amish choose to live the machine-less lives they live.
Breahna, the only places where "legit" casinos are legal are in Las Vegas and Indian Reservations, where gambling restrictions are lifted and Native Americans can make their own laws. The way I see it, Native American casinos ARE a product of Westernization/conformity. Of course, they have to make money somehow. And many reservations are making money with Vegas-styled casinos. Vegas-style casinos = not traditional Native American. The Native American way of living off the land has been slipping away for quite some time now.
Other places where Europeans have colonized years ago have also "conformed" and assimilated to keep up with modern times. For instance, I was born in the Philippines but I never lived in a bamboo hut. Of course there are people who still do, but I sure didn't. The Philippines was colonized by both Spaniards and Americans. The Philippines has skyscrapers, an element picked up from the West to create a metropolis of their own to administer and thrive. In the same way, Native Americans have picked up the Vegas-style casino... to earn money to survive.
Mark i do agree with you about the Native Americans and their conformity. Today there are many cultures that are either being absorbed into another or erased. Many languages are finding themselves being used less and less because its easier to just speak English for business. The way I see it is thats how human culture evolves and thats how its been since the earliest cultures. Thats why we have romance languages instead of Gaelic ones. I believe that the super power of the time is the one that dictates this. Thus all the the American trash like Barbie and our kesha pop music are being dumped on the entire world and destroy their own native cultures. so my answer to your question is i think its a shame that so much rich vibrant culture is being erased; however, i dont think it can be stopped and we must do our best to make any culture we are a part of a rich one.
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