The Myth of Culture & How to Hack it
Culture
We all have one (or many), grew up in one and it is this pervasive set of social standards & beliefs which dictate many of our actions, thoughts, and desires from a young age to our death.
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But what is it exactly?
What is its function and purpose?
Is it dangerous & if so why? If not, why?
Have you thought about your culture in this way?
I bet many of you have. We for sure have. We’ve trained ourselves to perceive ourselves as is from outside, like anthropologists.
Many times we receive messages that there is a person we “should be” or there are things we should do when we reach a certain age: behaviors, life activities, starting a family, etc.
Definition of Culture
From Merriam-Webster:
a : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time popular culture Southern culture
b : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization a corporate culture focused on the bottom line
c : the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic studying the effect of computers on print culture
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Culture can also be thought of as all of the things that pass under our radar as “the way things are.”
There truly is no “the way things are,” but life patterns can seem this way because we’ve been trained to see through culturally prescribed lenses. You know you’re hitting on culture when you think something is “just the way things are.” At that point, you realize that’s an unconscious pattern you’ve been living out under the guise of culture.
You have two choices, keep going this way if you like the pattern or….
Hack it!
You have to look at your life and take none of your “of coursenesses” for granted.
Take a deep breath and look around. Look at the clothes you’re wearing, the foods you’re eating for lunch. Look internally at your dreams or thoughts relating to “I Should…” This is your cultural framework.
Perhaps you’re happy with it and don’t want to hack it. Fine.
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But we’ll say that we have come to the conclusion that the mainstream cultures around the world are violent and leading to the destruction of the earth, deterioration of diversity, and free thinking. (This doesn’t mean that all cultures and even all of a certain culture is like this- we’re pinpointing and simplifying a trend here for the sake of argument.)
This is not an attack on any one culture, moreover a reality check and analysis of the very foundation on which we live. The cultural framework we come from dictates thoughts, perspectives, ideas, approaches and attitudes. It may be considered a paradigm and inherent in this is in the inability to see the paradigm objectively. This means it can be a challenge to see the effects it may have on one’s outlook.
Where does our support and unwavering faith of a culture come from?
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Perhaps we love the culture we are a part of and this can be a very healthy and positive thing.
Where it gets dangerous or unhealthy is when we unquestioningly follow a culture blindly without due self-reflection. Weather it be fear, ignorance, desire for safety or sameness that keeps individuals from questioning culture, this trend can lead to a culture that upholds unjust, immoral and destructive behavior. Ultimately any culture needs feedback loops to maintain a healthy balance and the members of any culture are just the ones to give that feedback, but only if they are willing.
Or maybe what keeps us from questioning culture is FEAR. Fear of stepping out, fear of being different or fear of change. Whatever keeps us from criticizing our culture (which leads to deeper awareness and growth) is a major contributor to upholding the traits that don’t serve the whole or support the greater good.
Culture is Defined by Those Who Believe In It
If we don’t believe in culture, it lessens in power.
If we call out negative patterns in our culture and create new pathways, the culture no longer runs on the same assumptions. It’s like operating procedures that we can opt out of once we become more conscious of them. In fact, many thinkers and change makers often criticize and live differently than the culture. This is where the majority of art, creativity, cutting edge things come from.
For homogeneity is death. Diversity brings greater life and is more resiliency.
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It can be difficult to step out from our culture we are raised in, but usually when we do we find a host of other souls waiting there with open arms that we can then bounce ideas off of and co-create with. Life becomes exciting and not prescribed. It is inherent in our cells and ancestry to be an integrated part of the evolution process and it is this interface with diversity and co-creation that creates a more resilient culture.
By blindly believing what we are told, we are relinquishing our divine gifts of perception, intuition and personal experience. We are cutting off our direct connection to life and allowing prescribed norms to take the reigns.
This stifles the individual creative spirit and society loses out on a bright shining star that could make a change.
How to Hack Culture
1. Become aware of it
2. Shed light on the “of coarsenesses”
3. Find out what you want to do and DO IT
4. Don’t let ANYONE stop you, be the creator of culture and...
5. Be brave enough to say YES to your inner calling.
It's definitely not always a simple process to become aware of our "of coursenesses" or to shift our culture, but we have found it gets easier and more satisfying step by step!
What are your techniques and supportive strategies for culture hacking?
In 1984 me and ten other people founded an anarchist café in our hometown, to create a space where we could work without a boss, where people could meet and discuss, where we would not support American imperialism by selling Coca Cola but the Nicaraguan revolution by selling Nicaragua coffee and so on.
So we analyzed the situation, capitalism, wage labor, armed struggles, unjust world trade etc., did not like what we saw, and went on to implement some practical change, small, but on a level we could accomplish.
The café still exists today and keeps being a catalyst of change.
How awesome this story is! What is the name of the cafe? A great example of localized solutions for creating a more just world. We can all learn from this! There's so much work to be done in this regard, way to go for it. Thanks for sharing @likedeeler.
http://cafeklatsch-wiesbaden.de/
I remember talking with an anthropology professor of mine about cultural relativism: Looking at other cultures, the researcher is supposed to take a step back, so their own culture would not distort the interpretation of the culture they're examining. On the other hand - and here comes the contradiction - they are not supposed to become completely detached from their own culture. To my questioning of this latter part, he didn't have any good reason, other than that we all were brought up in our culture for a reason. Great. Basically we should not turn against the norms of our society (which includes being a good academic in the properly prescribed way, patting each other on the shoulder for being so culturally relative that we can write good academic publications without going against the mainstream). That was my first step of turning my back on academia, and embracing what you call hacking my (and other) cultures. Great post! A must resteem!
Thank you @storetebeker, happy you resonated.
Wow your story was touching. I've heard many version of a similar story where the cultural glove we were raised with stopped fitting. Brave of you to listen to the inner knowing. It is this listening and action that creates new and worthwhile cultural paradigm. Academia never was a good fit for me either ;)
What you bring up about never turning your back on your culture is how we got into the social, economic anc environmental mess we find ourselves in. Thanks for the thoughtful comment
Getting an outside perspective on culture is one of the reasons I like travelling. You can see things with a fresh set of eyes and decide what you want to keep and what you want to throw away. It's refreshing, really. You don't have to accept everything. You also shouldn't reject everything. There are things to be learned from mostly anyone.
yes! great point on the travel. this has been very instrumental in my life as well! so so refreshing and really gives perspective.
well said!
I'm a firm believer that culture (and society at large) is the source of our greatest value, including financial. It's unfortunate that we rely so heavily on money to dictate the quality of our culture. Imagine it if were the other way around.
Culture is only one type of capital not currently being measured or applied in economics/monetary policy.
We could potentially create currencies based on our ability to holistically measure intellectual capital, social capital, human/living capital, cultural and social capital, experiential capital, and material capital. Financial capital is, arguably, less than 1/6th of the equation to be considered by economics - and much to the detriment of society.
https://vitae.foundation
Well said, culture is indeed an untapped resource that seems to be as you say sepearste from the economy. There is so much undervalued in the modern world and the list of undervalued capitals is truly staggering.
Perhaps this is all part of a grater evolution, although it sometimes seems like devolution to me.
My best strategy (so far) for culture hacking is to be a 3rd culture kid (I am living 16 years now in a country and culture in not my birth culture nor the country-culture I spent my adolencence and early adulthood in) raising a trilingual child in a digital world. I'm no longer sure culture will remain relevant as an idea for people like us - cos the "norm" in almost never taken for granted anymore. And not just more "travel", but place yourself for extended periods of time in communities that are so far out of your comfort zone that it's a challenge.
That last line is crucial about spending time so far out of comfort zone. That really pushes limits and expands human capacity. You bring up and interesting point about living in a digital age where "norms" are lease relevant.
Although I still feel it is up to the individual to choose a culture to identify with, it can be tough when they aren't too many accessible examples. I suppose this is where the good work happens in reviving, reintegrating and remembering our ancestral wisdom while weaving that into a modern context.
I'm finding as I raise my daughter, that I have to research, work at and CHOOSE the points-pieces of various cultures. Cos they have become so diluted that they are not a reflex anymore. I'm Dutch-German-Jewish on my mom's side, my father is a white-Dutch-Indonesian (both WW2 refugees) and I was born in Holland and raised in Holland-Australia. After 16 years in Thailand with my half Thai daughter, we literally do things like Google "Christmas traditions" to see if we like or even want any of it. It's a fascinating issue that you have chosen to shine your light on! And for me, "ancestral wisdom" is sometimes very vague as so much of that was obliterated by the war. We see it here in Asia too, with Khmer people who don't have a reference point anymore. The digital 'thing' is like putting my whole cultural mish-mash on steroids. :)
Ultimately I LOVE that my new culture (I struggle to even define what that is) is MY CHOICE. On a good day, my daughter and I simply call oursleves "global girls". :)
Well said!! There are WAY too many things about "modern culture" that are... fishy
;)
This is really thought provoking. I find myself thinking again about the difference between reform and Revolution. Of course, no matter which path we choose, we have to honor ourselves and only take the bits of different cultures that resonate with us, but I find myself lately simply wanting to start a totally different culture. I find myself just not wanting to try to reform the larger culture and instead opt out and create something all together different. I don't want to destroy the old one, and I do feel twinges of guilt about the people oppressed in the old culture, but I grow weary of the battle.
Ooo good food for thought you bring up. I guess we've been so consumed building our permacultire based homestead I haven't thought too much about reform vs revolution. I supppse I agree with opting out and creating a new one although it's tough to simply let go entirely of the "old" cultures. There's so much to learn from them and I suppose a fusion bridge the need to decide on reform vs revolution.
You guys are really creating your own beautiful world! I definitely don't think any of us will let go of all our old culture, and the fusion is important. I think I just don't want to be involved with the current culture any more. I still go back and forth. Sometimes I want to try to make a change, and other times I just want to pretend it's not there.
Ooo good food for thought you bring up. I guess we've been so consumed building our permacultire based homestead I haven't thought too much about reform vs revolution. I supppse I agree with opting out and creating a new one although it's tough to simply let go entirely of the "old" cultures. There's so much to learn from them and I suppose a fusion bridge the need to decide on reform vs revolution.