Reflective Essay
LKI122
writing_assignment_3_revision.docxCAUSES OF MODERN CULTURAL CONTROVERSIES
CAUSES OF MODERN CULTURAL CONTROVERSIES
CAUSES OF MODERN CULTURAL CONTROVERSIES
LISANDRA KILGORE
WRTG 101S 7393 Introduction to Writing (2155)
Modern cultural controversies are the cultural disputes and conflicts that happen today as a result of differences in culture. Cultural clashes are not new in the society since they have been there even during the time of our ancestors. The only difference between today’s modern cultural controversies and the past traditional cultural conflicts is that the modern cultural controversies have been affected by western influence. In the past, culture was something that was valued very much in the traditional society whereby cultural practices were highly respected and adored by their respective communities (Clark, 2014). However, with the introduction of modern culture, everything has changed. Culture is no longer valuable in today’s societies. There are several elements that have influenced the modern cultural controversies. These elements include religion, technology, sexuality, law and order among others. This paper expostulates on these elements and explains on them deeply and shows how they contribute in modern cultural controversies. It is imperative and prudent to determine the causes of modern cultural controversies so as to understand the theme of modern cultural controversies.
Religion is a major cause of modern cultural controversies (Raffe, 2012). In today’s societies, there are many religions which have different cultural practices. As a result, all the religions keep on fighting for superiority. Each and every religion wants to be superior to others. Religion has been very influential in the development of cultural controversies in today’s societies. For instance, let’s look at the Islam and Christian religion. These are two religions that have always had sharp conflicts and misunderstandings. Each of these two religions have their own book as well as their own God. This is evident through the names of their books and God. Muslims refer to their God as Allah while the Christians refer to theirs as God. The book used by Muslims for worship is called the Quran while the Christians use the Bible. The differences between these two religions, that is, Islam and Christianity have drawn sharp controversies in the world. The controversies have even led to religious wars were the Muslims have taken on to kill any non-Muslims. We have witnessed terrorism activities carried out by Muslims on the basis of religion. The main agenda presented by the Muslim terrorists is religion. They claim that they intend to convert the world into Muslim believers. The Muslims believe that their Islamic religion is more powerful and superior than any other religion in the world. It is imperative to ascertain that originally, religion was something that was very sacred in traditional society (Scruton, 2013). Religion used to be used as a shield against enemies as well as an element of peace. People would go to the temple to seek for God’s peace and it would be granted. In today’s modern society, religion is being misused. Terrorist groups are using religion as their base to commit serious crimes. There are many terrorism groups in the world, most of them have been influenced by Islamic religion (Raffe, 2012). Some examples of these terrorism groups include Al-Qaeda, Al-Sh abaab, Boko haram, Isis, Taliban among many others. In order to stay strong and inspired, these terrorism groups use religion to continue with their cruel activities. Through their religion, they are able to recruit new people into their groups. In addition, today’s religion has been turned into money making machine. Many churches today are formed on the basis of making money. Modern religion has so many pastors which have got their own churches. The main agenda of these pastors is to make money by deceiving innocent believers. It is also noted that modern religion is filled with evil whereby many of the preachers today possess evil powers which they use to deceive their congregation with the objective of attracting more followers to their churches. The modern churches have advocated for the erosion of the cultural norms of the people in which they operate. These points show that religion has caused a lot of controversies in the modern culture.
Technology plays a great part in causing modern cultural controversies. In today’s modern society, there are many controversies which are caused by technology. To begin with, technology has made everything easier. All the cultural controversies are easy to manage and organize through technology. For instance, the reason why terrorists, who use religion to commit crimes, are able to be distributed all over the world and still stay strong is through technology (Bhugra, Popelyuk & McMullen, 2010). They are able to manage their activities and cooperate with each other through the use of social networks. With the fast emergence of technological gadgets such as Smart phones and tablets, many people are getting exposed to technology at a younger age. Research has it that the people who are exposed to technology at young age tend to be more active in terms of cognitive abilities. An infant who gets the knowledge of technology perform well in cognitive activities. Most technology gadgets are complicated and for an infant to be able to use one, they do learn first. This helps the infant in developing cognitive abilities at a young age. However, technology can be harmful to infants’ social-emotional development. Many infants are getting exposed to technology gadgets for long periods of time thus they lack the time to socialize with other kids through plays and other kids activities. You will find that an infant may prefer to play a computer game instead of going out to play ‘hide and seek’ with other children (Bullard, 2014). As a result, the infants grow up without social-emotional skills. Infants develop their social-emotional skills by interacting with other children or even interacting with bigger people. Excess exposure of infants to technology only interferes with their social-emotional development.
It can be ascertained that technology has changed the way people live their lives over the past decades. Initially, communication was a slow process but due to the incorporation of the internet in our daily activities, communicating with a person who is on the other corner of the world is just a click away. This has made people to be able to communicate with one another swiftly a fact which has led to people communicating with strangers over the internet. This has led to cases of abductions and other controversial things taking place. The interaction of different people with different cultures on common technological platforms such as Facebook has led to erosion of people’s cultures with some many users of the social media adopting foreign cultural norms. Technology has made it possible to access information. With the internet, one can access all the information which they want to know. This has led to some people misusing the internet to access non ethical sites such as phonographic sites while some have gone to an extend of carrying out illicit trades such as child trafficking over the internet. This is a clear example of how technology has led to erosion of modern day culture and hence led to a lot of cultural controversies (Lincoln, Lynham & Guba, 2011).
Sexuality is also another cause of modern cultural controversies. Sexuality has changed in modern society whereby sex and gender roles are rapidly changing in our societies today. The way sex and gender roles were defined before, is very different from how they are defined today. Sex and gender roles have changed in various disciplines such as workplace, marriage, decision making, and family among many others (Cairns, 2011). Initially, roles were clearly defined for each sex and gender. Males had their own defined roles while female had also their own defined roles. Each gender and sex used to perform their own respective roles. Originally, only two genders were recognized, that is, the masculine and the feminine. The masculine is for the males while feminine represents the females. One’s gender was defined by their sex. Today, other genders have emerged which are often regarded as third gender. The roles of sex and gender have changed. Before, only a man and a woman could engage in an intimate relationship, but today this is not the case since other kinds of intimate relationships such as homosexuals and lesbianism have emerged. For instance, today there are cases of a man and another man engaging in sexual relationship (Lincoln, Lynham & Guba, 2011). The same also applies to lesbians. This is actually inversion of sex and gender roles. The sex and gender roles have also changed in marriage as well as workplace. Initially, in a marriage, the woman was supposed to stay at home and take care of home affairs as well as bringing up children while men went out to work. Today, women are working in the same places with men; they no longer stay at home. Today home affairs are shared by both partners. For instance, in the beginning, only a man could be the head of the family as well as the bread winner. Today, many women are considered bread winners in their families. In today’s societies, we also have controversial sexual relationships such as homosexuality and lesbianism. We have witnessed United States of America passing a law that gives gays the right to marry freely. This is a conflict against Christianity religion which does not support gay marriages. The stipulated points show that sexuality has led to a lot of modern cultural controversies (Cairns, 2011). The issues of same sex marriages, the transgender society, the polyandry and polygamy, the cohabiting by unmarried people, and the issue of people paying for sexual favors, are some of the factors which are causing a lot of controversies.
In contemporary society, the maintenance of law and order is different from the traditional ways. In modern societies, when people go to courts of law, it is not always provided that the guilt ones are the ones who get convicted (Szmidt, Normand, Burr, Hodgins & LaMotta, 2010). For a person to maneuver the corridors of justice, they need assistance by law professionals hence it is noted that not every person is capable of affording a lawyer; therefore, in many cases the poor do not get justice, only the rich goes by their ways. Therefore, due to lack of justice, the rich are able to oppress the poor and get away. This leads to bitter relationships between the rich and the poor. In modern day societies, there have been cases whereby the rich have committed crimes against the less privileged members of their societies but nothing has been done to them since they have always bribed themselves out of any situations. This has led to a lot of controversial happenings and undermining of human rights hence it is ascertained that modern day enforcement of law and order is causing a lot of controversies in the modern culture (Lincoln, Lynham & Guba, 2011).
References
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