Originally published at: TIDBITS: THIS WEEK'S HONOURABLE MENTIONS
You simply would not have believed the truly massive amount of eminently bloggable stories stuffing my in box this week! The following is only but a sampling not only of the number but the quality of these stories, so once again a huge thank you to all of you who take the time in your busy day…
I am trained in Cultural Anthropology, although admittedly, back in the late 1970s. I can’t make anything of the “chart” listed in the cultural article, and I even went to the Twitter Post, but neither indicates what “values” the chart is talking about. I mean, it is no surprise that “Rocky Mountain States”, where I once lived, have similar “dots” as California - but what does that break down into? What Cultural Values do villages in China share, or in India, for that matter?
In reality, on the ground, some cultures mesh better with new ones than others. For example, the Polish diaspora did extremely well in rural Ireland. Both cultures value family life, farming (or related jobs like farm store or grocery store owner), hard work, and religion (one Roman Catholic with some Orthodox thrown in), and they did fantastically well here. The Ukrainian refugees (mostly women and children) are also doing well, and their communities tend to love them. The North Africans and Middle Eastern groups tend to be lost, conflicted, and isolated. The Russians are somewhat in between, as are the Latin Americans. Meanwhile, the Irish children of professionals from all over (doctors, nurses, dentists, scientists) tend to do well and integrate well. Especially those with parents from India and South Asia (high standards for education), and surprisingly, some of the Nigerians who, while they have their own subculture in Ireland, tend to be evangelical or Catholic Christians and encourage outside contacts. We had one family that was active in our local Middle Ages club (SCA) until some members returned to Africa to take up trusted positions in their government. Some members have continued to visit orphanages and other charities they sponsor in Africa. I collected yarn for their student knitting projects. Even though I don’t share their religion, I share their goals of helping orphans become responsible and productive adults wherever they end up living.
But this chart, as a stand alone, simply tells me these people “share values,” but not what they are - that’s important when it comes to “cultural integration” or rather what used to happen in the United States - people proud of their roots and still enjoying visiting China Town (like my brother-in-law) and having wedding banquets after he married my sister-in-law from an old Texas Family who is part Native American and who named their son “Parker.” Thats not “merging” that is blending - which does work, when the “values” are close enough or the new group is willing to accept changes.