Cultural Conservatism is baloney.

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Here's something I'm sick of: I'm sick of hearing people talk about "preserving culture". Sometimes they are talking about white culture. Sometimes they are talking about black culture. Sometimes they are talking about Jewish culture. It all sounds the same to me.

I have taken stabs at America in the past but I think that the worst country ever is China. China shows us what happens when the government spends tons of time preserving culture. China is probably the most racist country in the world. Many Chinese people actually believe that they are a different species from the rest of humanity. I learned that a couple of days ago when I was watching and episode of The Incredible Human Journey.

China's intense cultural conservatism has stripped the Chinese people of anything remotely resembling humanity. A while ago a Chinese man sued his wife because their child was "ugly" ... and he won the lawsuit. In most countries parents don't call their children ugly because they simply know that that's wrong.

http://planetivy.com/news/12331/man-divorces-sues-wife-for-being-ugly-wins/

I wish that people on the right on the right and the left would stop trying to hold humanity back with their "cultural preservation" nonsense.

I agree, I very much favor the melting pot over multiculturalism.

It shall be only one contributor to their downfall.
And I will laugh.

Preserving culture is important, and does not have to conflict with the melting pot ideal.

The melting pot ideal is that we all have a shared culture, an accepted history we buy into (basic American history, the founding), and we all affirm Americanism as the American way, even if we disagree with it (morally, theologically, philosophically, etc.).

What troubles me are two things:

1.) When immigrants only staywith their group, 2-3 generations after their parents/grand-parents came here and do not move out amongst the native population, and,

2.) When American federal institutions embrace multiculturalism. The education system is to be free of anything that embraces something other then Americanism. That's it. You want to commemorate Jewish history or ethnic celebration day of some sort, that's absolutely fine, but the government should not support anything other then Americanism.

^ If you've got children, it's easier to live off welfare than it is to live off the minimum wage in Britain, when you factor in the bills you start having to pay when you get a job and the the transport to and from work (fuel is expensive here, as is public transport).

My take on it is pretty simple.


The US government and education system should niether suppress diversity, nor subsidize it.

If folks wanna be different, thats fine, but they have to do it on their own time.

The job of the education system is to train people in our society to survive in our society by learning English and so forth.

That way in an immigrant society like the usa you get enough diversity to enrich the country, but not so much diversity that you weaken the country.

But I do agree with the OP that the way people often make a fetish out of "perserving culture" from outsiders can be absurd-even amusing.

Language itsself is a battleground.

The French and the Germans have "language commisions" to decide whether or not to allow words into their languages because they are afraid of the invasion of English.

And then within the English speaking world Brits resent Americanisms creeping into British English.

It can be rather laughable.

Im mean - the French getting all GALVINIZED by making a CAUSE CELEB out of giving the COUP DE GRACE to invasive English words? Youd think that they would be afraid that we would retaliate against their linguistic CHAUVINISM by showing a little ESPRIT DE CORP of our own, and DEPORT all the words and phrases that weve borrowed from their language!

Cultural Conservatism leads to cultural stagnation. Always has, always will.