Cultural Relativity

         My grandfather had four wives and 18 children. My father has one wife and four children. The stark contrast between these two statements couldn't be anymore apparent, but should one be viewed as wrong compared to the other? My father was born and raised in West Africa where the beliefs and cultures are more than different than those we have here in America. My father, for instance believes "stupid" is a curse word, and he used to think that you shouldn't sing at the dinner table. Interestingly enough he too was taught that whistling at night summons bad spirits, a belief I was surprised to have read about in "Things Fall Apart". Needless to say some of the ideas my father brought with him to America are seen as silly and impractical, but I don't feel that makes them any more right or wrong than the customs we practice here. 

         I think the thing that makes the world so great and beautiful is the diversity that can be found among us. I take pride in being able to say I have 17 aunts and uncles and an endless amount of cousins while some of my friends can't say the same. I love learning about the festivals my dad experienced as a child and the crazy adventures he used to have that were the norm over there, but would be seen as foolish over here. Sure there are practices and ideologies that I don't agree with simply because I grew up in America, but those same practices are what make that culture what it is. Times change and ideas change and one day our beliefs and cultures may overlap, but until then its safe to say that I can live my life my way and they can live theirs their way. In "Things Fall Apart" that is how I try to view the sometimes horrifying traditions and ideas that are presented. I don't agree with killing innocent children for an "eye for an eye" ideology, but there isn't much I can do to stop that belief. I will never have more than one spouse, but I don't look down upon it because I don't know what it means in that culture. I believe Cultural Relativity has a lot of truth to it and that people should pay attention to its core message because then we may not have some of the prejudice and bias in the world that we do now.