What the left is describing as racist is very often culturalist. For example, is it cultural or racial to perform genital mutilation on infant females? Is it cultural or racial to celebrate Thanksgiving? Is it cultural or racial to honor the dead in some form?
You won’t agree with all of these statements or the questions that appear below the fold. But some of them may seem to you to have sensible answers.
Here is the book.
Here are the questions:
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1. Do you believe that defining, protecting and promoting majority cultures should be a legitimate policy consideration?
2. Do you believe that cultures are so diverse that some people make more desirable immigrants than others?
3. Do you believe that some behaviors, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation, may be lauded in other countries but run against the grain of our culture?
4. Do you believe that people who get no guidance from society might not turn out to be angels?
5. Do you believe that our cultural ideals are not the default of humanity and need promotion in our schools and laws?
6. Do you think that it would be good for our citizens to learn about our history and culturist traditions?
7. Do you believe that a culture’s beliefs might be so influential that profiling people of some cultures could be rational?
8. Do you believe that self-government includes the right to collectively guide the direction of society?
9. Do you believe diversity means that not all cultures hold the same truths to be self-evident?
10. Do you believe that Western ideals are in competition with other ideals and could lose?
11. Do you believe that private space is sacrosanct, but public airwaves and spaces should be somewhat managed in order to promote positive values?
12. Do you believe that sometimes the desire of the majority concerning the culture should be considered when the absolute rights of individuals are asserted to protect anti-social behavior?
So…did you answer three or more affirmatively? Oh dear, you might be a culturalist…
Oh dear , I answered 11 of the questions in the affirmative , what does that make me ?
11 for me too! The only one I had a problem with was number 11 which seems a bit restrictive with regard to freedom of speech.
There is nothing wrong with loving your own culture, especially when it is so good. I am proud to be a member of such the great civilisation of the West that has achieved such great things and, as far as I can see, represents the best culture that humanity has yet produced. That is not to say that something better will not arise in the future, I am sure that my culture becomes better because the idea of progress is something that is built into Western culture. The West is good but not perfect and the open societies that it has produced allow for improvement.
Organisations such as the EU, that apparently hate Western Culture, seem intent on subverting our entire civilisation and replacing it with a form of dictatorship where the key ingredient of Western culture, freedom of expression, is subdued.
11 out of 12 affirmatives here as well.
One thing about this whole kerfluffle with CJ is that he’s inadvertently brought greater awareness of the tactics used by the multi-culti EU on folks such as Paul Belien and the VB (at least by me, who wasn’t paying that much attention before this). At this point, I don’t see much difference between him and the EU (tactics-wise).
I scored somewhere between 10 and 12. I cannot answer yes to the questions 8 and 11 without reservations. I would put much more stress on real self-government than John Press.
As long as we are not abused by oppressive centralized campaigns of forced cultural/racial purity or forced cultural/racial mix, everything will be all just fine. If culture is just left alone from Utopian/totalitarian politics, culture (in all its local diversity) will take care of itself all fine.
Self-government should go to the lowest level possible: village, canton, region. The common sense of ordinary people beats any ideological master plan or national narative. For a local community of self-government my answer to questions 8 and 11 is a very clear yes. At a national level, what applies is a respect for the diversity of different local approaches to 8 & 11.
“Wenn
ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning!”
While I disagree with the abhorent wehrmacht interpretation of that statement, I can understand
why some might be rightly alarmed at the dogmatic impostition of cultural norms for a society.
But, how then, shall we live, and who is to decide? Is one culture, belief or philosophy better than any other? Despite my opinion running counter to the relativistic, non-judgemental, no borders, open minded til their brains fall out, limp weenie, leftist utopian one world crap weasels who seem to populate an
ever increasing percentage of Western population, I say hell yes!
I simply thank God Almighty that the applied Christian philosophy which European immigrants brought to these shores 300 years ago made it here first, and not, say, muslim philosophy with its intolerance & brutal strictures of sharia law.
On to the questions!
1. Do you believe that defining, protecting and promoting majority cultures should be a legitimate policy consideration? Freely from the people, yes. From the government, no.
2. Do you believe that cultures are so diverse that some people make more desirable immigrants than others? Absolutely. But more important, is there a willingness on the immigrants part to assimilate into the dominant host culture?
3. Do you believe that some behaviors, such as polygamy and female genital mutilation, may be lauded in other countries but run against the grain of our culture? Yes.
4. Do you believe that people who get no guidance from society might not turn out to be angels? Is this a trick question?
5. Do you believe that our cultural ideals are not the default of humanity and need promotion in our schools and laws? I wish to reverse that: I believe our schools and laws are not the default of society and need promotion because of our (predominantly Christian) cultural ideals.
6. Do you think that it would be good for our citizens to learn about our history and culturist traditions? Apparently, from a left coast government school stand point, only if it trashes WASPs.
7. Do you believe that a culture’s beliefs might be so influential that profiling people of some cultures could be rational? You mean like angry young men from saudi arabia?
8. Do you believe that self-government includes the right to collectively guide the direction of society? If you mean in a grass roots, fabric of society kinda way, that respects the spirit & ideals of our constitution, then HELL YAS!
9. Do you believe diversity means that not all cultures hold the same truths to be self-evident? That’s one of the current definitions being peddled in government schools.
10. Do you believe that Western ideals are in competition with other ideals and could lose? Unfortunately, yes.
11. Do you believe that private space is sacrosanct, but public airwaves and spaces should be somewhat managed in order to promote positive values? Or at least not encourage the public world to become an open sewer.
12. Do you believe that sometimes the desire of the majority concerning the culture should be considered when the absolute rights of individuals are asserted to protect anti-social behavior? Ah, there’s the rub. It often comes in the misguided form of ‘you can’t legislate morality!’ But society can, and has, and does legislate morality – whether its hammurabi’s code, or the bill of rights, moral guidelines & restraints have been decreed, legislated or adopted through the ages. It is only the U.S. of A. that sought, at its inception, to apply such restraints direclty and permenantly to the apperatus of government.
And the great experiment goes on….
8. Do you believe that self-government includes the right to collectively guide the direction of society?
I’m sorry, but this question is so tautological as to be meaningless.
Like others, though, I scored high, with the reservations about government that previous commenters have eloquently voiced. Those reservations are generally the faults of the questions themselves.
Lots of loaded questions here, but I’ll try to take ’em bit by bit.
1. Do you believe that defining, protecting and promoting majority cultures should be a legitimate policy consideration?
No, not really. Defining “culture” is like nailing jello to a wall. I’d rather government policymakers spend their time on less quixotic pursuits.
2. Do you believe that cultures are so diverse that some people make more desirable immigrants than others?
I believe some people make more desirable immigrants than others. I’m a bit reluctant to tie it to “culture”.
3. Do you believe that some behaviors, such as … female genital mutilation, may be lauded in other countries but run against the grain of our culture?
Yes to F.G.M., no to polygamy. Unofficial polygamy has always been fairly common.
4. Do you believe that people who get no guidance from society might not turn out to be angels?
Yes, but I draw no implications from it.
5. Do you believe that our cultural ideals are not the default of humanity and need promotion in our schools and laws?
Ah, that slippery beast again … whose ideals are being referred to by “our cultural ideals”? And don’t say “the West”, because the West is no ideological monolith.
6. Do you think that it would be good for our citizens to learn about our history and culturist traditions?
History, yes. Traditions, maybe.
7. Do you believe that a culture’s beliefs might be so influential that profiling people of some cultures could be rational?
Not really.
8. Do you believe that self-government includes the right to collectively guide the direction of society?
Yes, with some exceptions.
9. Do you believe diversity means that not all cultures hold the same truths to be self – evident?
No. ‘Diversity’ can mean a variety of things, and that may be one of them, but it’s not absolutely inherent in the concept.
10. Do you believe that Western ideals are in competition with other ideals and could lose?
Yes, of course. For any given value of “Western Ideals”, which could mean any number of things.
11. Do you believe that private space is sacrosanct, but public airwaves and spaces should be somewhat managed in order to promote positive values?
I don’t believe that private space is absolutely sancrosanct, but in most respects, I agree.
12. Do you believe that sometimes the desire of the majority concerning the culture should be considered when the absolute rights of individuals are asserted to protect anti-social behavior?
Eh, maybe. That sounds like something I’d want specific examples before answering.
I believe that you should go back and spend more time thinking about your own questions!
Not exactly the stuff of great minds considering the value of their cultural history or it’s future.
Good try though.
Hello all,
John Press, the author of the book culturism, here.
It is hard to answer all of the comments here. More information can be found at http://www.culturism.us But . . .
Doctor, it might make you a culturist. (no “al”)
Aeneas, freedom of speech is one of our values, so I understand your concern. But allowing public airwaves to push drugs and violence shows we do not have any values. In the age of the internet, not allowing crude antisocial behavior on the few public channels would not stop free speech. It would say that someone cares.
Conservative Swede, the real emergency to self-government is Islamic fascism. That said, self-government involves the ability for communities to make collective decisions. The Constitution does and should prevent abuses. But individual rights have now cancelled out self-government. No one can have any tradition if one individual is threatened. Individual rights enforced by the court need to consider the health of the culture that supports them – cultural rights.
Locomotive Breath, I can’t get to all your comments. But, thanks for the input and . . .
The big way to decide which cultural beliefs we should have comes from our traditions. As the anthropology chapter in culturism shows and weekly terrorism demonstrates, diversity includes some very broad behaviors. We should not allow people that believe in trival warfare, violence, jihad, female genital mutilation, gang rape, etc in here. Those things may be fine elsewhere in the world, but they run counter to our broad traditions and sustainability. If we go rights will exist nowhere.
Number four was asked by someone else. When we give no moral guidelines or guidance in our schools, when the only values we support are tolerance, we should not be surprised when macho, violent, sexist, gangs result. Mankind, without guidance, may not be lovely. We need to teach not to fight, take our Western traditions for granted, respect teachers, learning, etc., Heavy teen pregnancy is another thing we can expect if we are not willing to discourage such behavior. That means culturism, not having no values under the multicultural guise of tolerance.
Mrgennoiz, as I said, I do think self-government is undermined by courts enforcement of individual’s protection against any discomfort.
Lucille, I try hard to define our culture under the chapter “Western culture.” It is easier when contrasted with Aztecs and Islam. But our culture is progressive and so is much harder to nail down than many. But I have not tried nailing jello so cannot say for sure about that : ) Also, see above on number four.
OMMAG, not sure who should think about the questions. They are, for sure, just a teaser to get people thinking. The hope is that, as Doctor, people might consider identifying as culturists. The hope that this will disarm those who sneak out of conversations by calling everyone racists. It also provides an antidote to the mindless acceptance of multiculturalism.
Many more details are at http://www.culturism.us
Thanks to Dymphna and all and to all a good night!!