Prompt 3

To me culture is traditions, behavior, and teaching. There is culture everywhere you look and it's all different. When I think of American culture, I think of how Americans see life and how we are so used to having all of these freedoms given to us by the people. I think culture goes with you wherever you are. I have learned from birth that I have a right to say whatever I want without being punished for having an opinion. However, I've learned that freedom of speech is not given to everyone. A woman in Iraq, for example, knows that she cannot go against her father, or husband's wishes. "Culture," is something that people are born into. A Chinese man has the same ideas in America as he does in China. An American can go to any country in the world and still have the same values, traditions, and ideas as he or she does in America. That is to say, culture is not restricted to a certain country, race, religion, or anything else for that matter. For example, a young girl born into a very traditional Japanese family, will learn and grow in that culture, even if she is born in America. However, that is not to say the world itself will not have an impact on her culture as well. I believe that each individual person has their own culture based on where they live, who they are around, what they are taught, and what they see.
A certain belief or practice really is definitely cultural. For example, Scientology is the new "fad" in Hollywood these days. New fads are apart of celebrity culture. Three years ago it was Kabalah. The new religion isn't a part of the culture, the fact that it's the "in" thing to be apart of is the culture itself. Celebrities have to stand out and lead the crowd, or follow it, regardless of what they truly believe. Using religion for an example in middle class life, we see that most people stick with the religion they were born into and were raised as. Christians rarely convert until they receive more information in college when they move away from home. Beliefs are a part of culture whether it be because it's the "thing" to be in, or because the person really does believe in it.
Cultures definitely progress with the passage of time. Today we can see the scaring effects of racism, yet the people of this country are truly getting better and more accepting of interracial relationships and desegregation. Twenty years ago, no one talked about homosexuality as a way of life, and today there are gay pride parades, as well as pushing of legislation to make gay marriage legal. The American culture has progressed with the passage of time and the accepting of new ideas. I think that "development and progression" are very good terms to use when speaking of how a culture has changed. Religion has changed even in the course of time, it's progressed to accommodate how life is. Baptists used to have this rule that there could be no dancing, it was a "sin." Today the church is accepting of dancing as long as it's not in a lascivious way.
I don't think that there will ever be a "global culture." There wouldn't be individuality anymore. I think it would be so boring for everyone to be the same religion, same ideas, same views, and the same way of dress even. So much could be lost by having a global culture. I think, while the world as a whole is moving towards that on a global scale, the people of the world are from far too many different cultures for them all to combine together and form one large one.
If a person were to be harmonious in different cultures, some skills they should have are language, knowledge, and the willingness to accept. First, to exist harmoniously, there cannot be a language barrier. To not be able to understand someone or have them not understand you is extremely frustrating and could turn very ugly. Secondly, there has to be a basic knowledge of how different cultures work. The willingness to accept goes hand in hand with knowledge because while a person might know about a certain aspect of a culture, they cannot exist equally and harmoniously within that culture until they accept that idea or practice as a way of life.