Re: Amerindian resistance mode (was: amerindian an offensive
Gerold Firl (geroldf@sdd.hp.com)
9 Aug 1996 20:57:17 GMT
In article <4ueo0k$7gu@dfw-ixnews4.ix.netcom.com>, matts2@ix.netcom.com (Matt Silberstein) writes:
|> I am saying that acceptance can be distructive to
|> culture. Yes, the U.S. has a large Jewish population. There is also a
|> very high % of mixed marriages. I would prefer acceptance but not
|> assimilation. I value cultural diversity, but it is difficult to
|> maintain cultural identity against a dominant culture. One of the
|> things that kept Jewish culture alive for the last 2000 years was the
|> lack of acceptance by the general population.
To me, the only reasonable criterion by which to judge the value of
assimilation must rest with the individual; each person is the best
judge of that. Those who would attempt to prevent people from
"defecting" from their culture end up building a gulag, and destroying
what they are trying to preserve.
Jewish culture evolved a number of mechanisms for coping with their
status as a persecuted minority. Once those conditions change, why
shouldn't the culture change along with it? I see the culture as
existed to serve the individual members of that culture, not the other
way around.
--
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Disclaimer claims dat de claims claimed in dis are de claims of meself,
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=---- Gerold Firl @ ..hplabs!hp-sdd!geroldf
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