As we begin our second quarter of our humanities course, I realize that much of our works have significantly depended on communicating our thoughts through words and speech understood by those around us. I realized how everyone’s perspectives were different- that the words we speak come from completely individual minds of different contextual backgrounds.
And so, what is it exactly that makes our perspectives so different? What gives every human being the context of their thinking, that which gives us the knowledge to communicate original thoughts?
The answer lies within our contextual backgrounds, our cultures in which we originate and grow up with. I used to think that culture was only one thing- that it consisted only of the old traditions of your nation and people. However, as I grew older, I had learned that culture is a topic of significant complexity. Culture is not only old traditions- it is what your Mom cooks for dinner, what your family’s favorite football team is, and what religion (or none) that your family had taught you. Culture is how your parents raised you- the environment in which you learn what is right and wrong. And culture is taught from the perspectives of those who raise you, with language as their medium and translator for their thoughts.
And from this, one can perceive language as the ultimate medium of communication- the best creation enabled by our ability to think. A common language creates the understanding in which we see each other as individual minds, as different perspectives of these significantly different cultural contexts.
Empire and Its Ruins 