tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603965086004625582.post9116377120477140082..comments2023-05-22T08:32:09.454-07:00Comments on A muse; me: Guatemalan Families and Communitykballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03023604809590397072noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603965086004625582.post-35387591283141768822009-05-30T08:44:12.053-07:002009-05-30T08:44:12.053-07:00Interesting post. I think you'll find that US cult...Interesting post. I think you'll find that US culture values independence in the extreme. (I come from a town with a lot of summer tourists from the US, and I always felt I could tell them by volume, and the use of "I" more than was seemly.) It does have a certain kind of charm, to be sure.<br /><br />I can't but think of interdependence in terms of selective pressure on some level, perhaps on its primary level. It strikes me as the natural human condition--but since the natural conditions are also privation, hunger, and disease (not cynically, but clinically), I do think that these things go hand-in-hand. In Dubai, where the family structure is still extremely important to the culture, it no longer seemed essential. That was as of last year. Into the recession, which has hit many Arabs hard, I imagine that the family-solidarity model is vindicated; or as a friend of mine might say: they are back to "eating coffee and dates."<br /><br />Economic development would have a certain character up to the point where people's basic needs are met; and after that, it would take on another character. The great wealth gap arising from this is the crux of the problem; and whereas it's relatively acceptable in the US, because it marks the rich as successful, it's social poison elsewhere. (Someone explained to me once that Omanis don't respect land ownership, because they feel that 30 years ago, no one hand anything, so if someone has something now, it's because he was either lucky or corrupt. It is certainly not because he is inherently more worthy.)Marcusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603965086004625582.post-1842271447474637732009-05-30T05:55:19.277-07:002009-05-30T05:55:19.277-07:00Hi Chase,
Thanks for reading and posting! I rea...Hi Chase,<br /><br /> Thanks for reading and posting! I really like and agree with the idea of a view of interdependence as a progression of personal growth. I worry, though, that independence is so ingrained in our culture that it will always have fingers leaking in where they shouldn't.kballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03023604809590397072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603965086004625582.post-43010636259073443132009-05-29T16:35:12.019-07:002009-05-29T16:35:12.019-07:00As a single person, an individual with an identity...As a single person, an individual with an identity, I can take into account my weakness and strength. Working with these, I make my choices and walk a path through life.<br /><br />I've had a very similar notion, in the back of my head, for some years now. As I focus and strive every day to grow and mature as a person, I've often felt limited.<br /><br />I think the notion of interdependence, is a progression of personal growth. When we see ourselves not as solitary pieces, but as part of a greater community which we cannot distinguish ourselves from as being separate. Like all things.Chase Mathewsonhttp://chasemathewson.com/noreply@blogger.com