My wife has gone to sleep, but I think I still have a few words in me before I can rest. Even though for once, we had some good conversation with too much arguing.
Let's agree to disagree.
I came across a headline today that I agree with, at least at face value.
Immigrants should abandon incompatible practices.
But I would extend the sentiment to include everyone, that all people should abandon incompatible practices. Yes, immigrants coming into Finland should not expect to bind feet, or perform female circumcisions. I also think that individuals should choose what they wear, rather be forced by cultural or religious doctrine. But this applies to all.
Essentially, we should all be trying to abandon habits that is incompatible with our wellbeing. We should throw away bad eating habits. We should stop focusing on profits for corporations and subsequent shareholders. And, we should stop expecting people to be just like us before we can accept them.
Unpopular opinions?
Should a woman be forced to wear a headdress because men a thousand years ago dictated it? Should it be forced upon children? In my opinion, fuck no. But, should someone have to learn a language in order to get hired into a company whose official company language is already spoken? If there are people in the company who don't speak the official company language (normally English), should they be fired?
Incompatible practices.
Looking to globalise and impact internationally, but unwilling to give up cultural traditions. Yet, the hypocrisy is lost on most people, because cultural tradition speaks to identity. People don't want to give up their often ridiculous and superstitious practices, because they feel right, feel natural, feel like they belong.
Adapt.
Yes, people who come to Finland should try to learn the language, but success in language ability should not be a non-negotiable for integration. There are plenty of immigrants who speak the local language, who aren't integrated.
The fact is, for whatever the many reasons we have, everyone has incompatible practices that hold us back from being the best version of ourselves. I physically train harder and more often than the majority of people, but I also eat more low-quality food than most.
Can't train away a bad diet.
Culture is always in flux, changing. Even the most homogeneous communities will see natural change over time. If there is no change, it is through artificial force. But even then, it is only matter of time before the inevitability of change happens anyway.
No matter how strong the convictions, time will destroy them all.
And we should remember this when we are fighting to maintain a status quo that will inevitably crumble. It doesn't matter the doctrine or rule, the only laws that can't be broken, are natural laws. And even they get broken, because we as limited humans are always lacking understanding.
In my country you will...
Countries change too. Your country is an atomic bomb away from being someone else's. Or a vote in parliament. Or a meteorite hitting it. You have very little control or even influence over "your" country, so is it really yours?
Your mind is yours. Mine is mine.
Yet, how much control do we have if we are unable to effectively swap the incompatible practices we have, for healthy, supportive, growth practices? Not your keys, not your crypto. Not your control, not your thoughts?
Most say, "people can choose for themselves" as long as they don't harm others. But, is a parent who by choice doesn't support their child to integrate into the culture they live within, harming no one?
Their child, their control?
"I just want what is best for my children."
Then Kill your darlings and throw away incompatible practices that become hurdles to their well being. Feed them the healthiest food, the healthiest information, the healthiest interpersonal interaction, and build the healthiest, most compatible practices that serve their wellbeing.
There is value in getting rid of cultural baggage, just as there is value in some cultural practices. But, that value dissipates when the practice becomes blind to the needs of the time, and doesn't evolve to remain relevant.
Traditional doesn't mean tenable.
If traditional owners used to eat turtles but that species is now endangered,stop eating turtles. We are far more knowledgeable than we were even a few decades ago, so we should be employing all that we know, to improve all that we can.
We can all start with ourselves.
But we don't live isolated and insulated within a bubble.
Taraz
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