Have
you considered how cultural norms form? I thought of this topic in
pondering the Sabbath. Did you know the Sabbath was originally
honoured by early Christians from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset,
which is the seventh day of the week? This is still practiced by Jewish people today. The Sabbath was only changed hundreds of years after Jesus died.
Leaders who are elected may decide something, and it is foisted on the general public, who may disagree and murmur about it initially, if at all, and then it becomes the norm, which is the accepted way of society and which we do not question as it is part of life, as in the example of the Sabbath.
There are those who complain about the way something is, especially those who live under an injustice, but they may be seen as a problem and ignored, until the tide turns and mass change happens, sometimes from the bottom up this time. Think of the historical period of Martin Luther King Jr; he spoke out against injustice, and at the time he was targeted and ultimately assassinated, yet now is celebrated as a legendary figure and was responsible for a change in history.
And then the people who lived under the original situation may then all be blamed as being responsible for the original situation, even though it might have been their leaders who decided, not necessarily individuals, though of course many individuals did accept the status quo. I think of the situation of the San (Bushmen) today in Southern Africa (see blog post: Ode to the San). They are a people who are ignored and have lost their heritage, yet people today who live in the same country as the San go about their daily business without thought of the San. Many San, traditionally hunter gatherers, are languishing right now in jail for hunting to feed their families. Hardly anyone says a word, though Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been a vocal supporter of the San.
Many people in South Africa today call for so-called colonialists, white people, to give back land they say was stolen from them, yet they were not the original inhabitants either, the San were. And many white people may even be very recent migrants to the country, who might have bought land under the current government, and can in no way be accused of stealing land. Many non-white people may be very recent migrants too. We will never be able to change the past, we can only change the future for the better.
People tend to fight for their own self interest, forgetting they may be as guilty of injustice, and of course as mentioned, they may be everyday people who live under a situation inherited, and might be aghast if I were to say, look at what you are all doing to the San. I would be one who the finger could be pointed at too, as I am also a citizen of Africa.
The situation of the San is not unique, as there are many examples of the same thing happening to other tribal people the world over. Do any of the people who live in a country where tribal people have lost their heritage give any thought to the conditions these people live in? Or is this just the way things have always been and it is accepted as the norm?
As another example, some Christians still blame Jewish people as a nation for Jesus' crucifixion, but it was a few leaders at the time who decided Jesus' fate, and generally the public flocked to see him, Jewish people and Gentiles alike, and how can we accuse Jewish people today of a crime that happened over 2000 years ago? In the same way, German people alive today can in no way be accused of being guilty of causing the Holocaust, as they were not there themselves. We can all learn from past atrocities and ensure these situations never happen again.
We may sometimes be judged by circumstances outside our control, and sometimes we are conditioned to accept. This is something to ponder on, especially when we point a finger at people and generalise. What may we ourselves be accused of? I know I could stand accused of much.
Leaders who are elected may decide something, and it is foisted on the general public, who may disagree and murmur about it initially, if at all, and then it becomes the norm, which is the accepted way of society and which we do not question as it is part of life, as in the example of the Sabbath.
There are those who complain about the way something is, especially those who live under an injustice, but they may be seen as a problem and ignored, until the tide turns and mass change happens, sometimes from the bottom up this time. Think of the historical period of Martin Luther King Jr; he spoke out against injustice, and at the time he was targeted and ultimately assassinated, yet now is celebrated as a legendary figure and was responsible for a change in history.
And then the people who lived under the original situation may then all be blamed as being responsible for the original situation, even though it might have been their leaders who decided, not necessarily individuals, though of course many individuals did accept the status quo. I think of the situation of the San (Bushmen) today in Southern Africa (see blog post: Ode to the San). They are a people who are ignored and have lost their heritage, yet people today who live in the same country as the San go about their daily business without thought of the San. Many San, traditionally hunter gatherers, are languishing right now in jail for hunting to feed their families. Hardly anyone says a word, though Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been a vocal supporter of the San.
Many people in South Africa today call for so-called colonialists, white people, to give back land they say was stolen from them, yet they were not the original inhabitants either, the San were. And many white people may even be very recent migrants to the country, who might have bought land under the current government, and can in no way be accused of stealing land. Many non-white people may be very recent migrants too. We will never be able to change the past, we can only change the future for the better.
People tend to fight for their own self interest, forgetting they may be as guilty of injustice, and of course as mentioned, they may be everyday people who live under a situation inherited, and might be aghast if I were to say, look at what you are all doing to the San. I would be one who the finger could be pointed at too, as I am also a citizen of Africa.
The situation of the San is not unique, as there are many examples of the same thing happening to other tribal people the world over. Do any of the people who live in a country where tribal people have lost their heritage give any thought to the conditions these people live in? Or is this just the way things have always been and it is accepted as the norm?
As another example, some Christians still blame Jewish people as a nation for Jesus' crucifixion, but it was a few leaders at the time who decided Jesus' fate, and generally the public flocked to see him, Jewish people and Gentiles alike, and how can we accuse Jewish people today of a crime that happened over 2000 years ago? In the same way, German people alive today can in no way be accused of being guilty of causing the Holocaust, as they were not there themselves. We can all learn from past atrocities and ensure these situations never happen again.
We may sometimes be judged by circumstances outside our control, and sometimes we are conditioned to accept. This is something to ponder on, especially when we point a finger at people and generalise. What may we ourselves be accused of? I know I could stand accused of much.
Jesus said, "You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you
can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:5 WEB)
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