we hear so much about the inalienable constitutional right of individuals to RECEIVE respect, honour, fairness, dignity, equity, etc.
… yet I very seldom if ever seem to hear of the responsibility of individuals to GIVE rights, to extend these rights to others…
it is said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, … but it seems that these days to receive is everything
so what’s your take on giving?
cul·ture (kulchur)
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/culture
says:-
a. the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
b. these patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: edwardian culture; japanese culture; the culture of poverty.
c. these patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the middle ages; musical culture; oral culture.
d. the predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. …. etc. etc. etc….
we are surrounded by an aggressive tsunami culture 24/7.
media, social groups, global issues, local issues, significant others…
and it’s getting more intense as the ‘global village’ gets more connected each day
sometimes it’s like we are sitting in a bomb shelter somewhere with heavy shells whistling in overhead, exploding all around us – bombardment from the skies, intermittent, unpredictable, but ever present
in war of this nature, when the big guns are blazing and the mega bombs are dropping the most productive thing that can be done is usually a survival default - just staying alive – merely surviving under the barrage
along with the noise is the occasional voice of a cheerleader saying, “it’s all right! … we’re doing good! … it’s going to be fine!!” … but these words are also whispering in overhead, imploding all around us – sifting in from the skies, intermittent, predictable, barely audible alongside the concussions
i can’t help but wonder about culture and what’s growing under our own social arms and in those dark damp places where the sun doesn’t really shine
Simple fingerprints and footprints are a sign of our uniqueness. Only we can leave our prints in the sands of time and space, even eternity. Only we can touch the world like we can. If we don’t it simply won’t happen. If another places their print on ours both smudge, both are spoiled. There is no hope of redemption in this.
Only we can touch our world and leave our unique mark. To try replicate or even copy another, no matter how noble or worthy that person may be is an abdication, even an attack on our own uniqueness, our own integrity, theirs too.
By so doing we relegate ourselves into worthless shadows of the person we think, or vainly hope we’d like to be.
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