JUST A THOUGHT - ON HOW 'THE CUT' IS PROBABLY THE WORST EUPHEMISM FOR ADULTS TORTURING CHILDREN! PART 1.

'People tend to see their culture as something of pride, which they display with understandable joy and even disinhibition. 

When we indulge in our ancient cultural displays and demonstration, we are saying, this is who we are, it is what defines us and we are proud of who we are. 

Even when, on closer examination, our cultures are likely to have aspects which are anachronistic, backward, and of which we should not be proud. Which is why progress requires a dynamic and critical interplay between us and our changing environment.'

While it is understandable that we should have pride in our culture, all aspects of our cultures are not necessarily or ever always virtuous, good and enlightened. How could it possible be so?

There are times when, even though the we might be feeling proud of our cultural displays, people from other cultures who are watching, are not really enjoying it as much as they might appear to be. 

They might just be showing a certain amount of politeness or respect.  An appreciation of the fact that we have taken the trouble of putting on the display for them.

This is not surprising, because, what is it that constitutes a particular people's culture?  

If not  a set of artefacts and linguistic, religious, dietary, social, economic, personal, gender, leisure,  physical, political and procedural rituals and roles which govern most aspects of their lives?

The extent to which the people of a given culture practice it, is dependent on the extent to which they are isolated from people of other cultures. 

Although at any given time, parts of any of our cultures might be dead, parts are dying, and parts are evolving into something new, and, oftentimes, better.  

The best cultures are those which are living, which are being receptive to acting on and being acted upon by changing events. 

Those cultures which are receptive to changes occurring in the present and changes which are likely to be made in the future. 

These dynamic cultures are, in my view, the ones which are more capable of serving humans the best. 

Because they allow themselves to evolve and thereby facilitate the enlightenment of the people who follow practice them. They are vehicles or engines of change. 

They are used as tools to propel 'their people' forward, and not use the people as tools to maintain dubious 'cultural purity.' 

Which can only be achieved by suspending time and and the evolutionary and developmental process of humans and their societies.