The role of culture in any given society can be understood from two long-standing approaches; an inside (emic) and outside (etic) perspectives. Emic refers to the description of a particular culture in its terms (Ford, West, & Sargeant, 2015). Gaining the emic perspective, therefore, relates to viewing culture as a member of such a culture would and is the central view of ethnography. Etic refers to the description of a culture difference regarding general external standards. The inside perspective follows the psychological studies tradition of fork beliefs in understanding the native's point of view of a given culture. The etic perspective, on the other hand, follows anthropological approaches and the behaviorist psychology tradition that link cultural practices with external factors including ecological and economic factors. Emic and etic are thus two different ways to view the same thing, resulting in two distinct forms of describing it. The world society is rapidly changing through globalism which is bringing people from different cultures together.
PART 1
Diversity in the United States of America from an Etic Perspective
The united states of America thrive on diversity as it is home to a variety of groups of people. The USA is referred to a "melting point" because its population comes from different cultures and backgrounds. As such, the American culture is characterized by a wide variety of religious beliefs, traditions, and values. For example, approximately 71% of Americans identify themselves with Christianity. However, there are other numerous religions formed by religious freedom. The USA has ethnically and racially diverse populations where African Americans constitute a majority of the racial minority groups. Latino and Hispanic Americans represent the most prominent ethnic minority. Cultural diversity is an essential aspect because the modern society is made up of a mix of different ethnic, cultural and racial groups that must coexist for nation-building.
The USA is referred to the nation of immigrants. The colonial empires orchestrated the initial forays and settlements. The Dutch, Spanish, British and French empires coexisted with Native Americans and the enslaved Africans. The second wave of immigrants consisted of the Scandinavian, German, Scottish and Irish settlers who migrated to America. The Chinese, Italians and eastern Europeans also immigrated to America due to the industrial revolution in search for jobs. The last phase and the modern form of immigration to the USA constitute of business people from all over the world who transact with or open up businesses in the USA (Hodge, Lieberman, & Murata, 2017). In response to the immigration, the Native Americans have resulted to slowly accepting the immigrants as part of the American society. According to US census bureau, the American population in 2009 was 5% Asian, 80% white, 1% American Indian, 16% Latino or Hispanic, 13% African American and 0.2% native Hawaiian.
Culture is what shape people and people’s identity influence their behavior. A system that respects and recognizes the presence of diverse groups of people in America encourages the people to contribute to the American society. Cultural diversity has been particularly useful for America because the social settings like schools and workplaces are composed of different groups of people. It, therefore, becomes easy to learn from each other and to understand each other. Collaboration is consequently made easy as negative stereotypes and personal biases are dispelled from the society. Cultural diversity also helps people in the American community to develop bridges of trust and equality making the USA a more exciting and habitable place to live.
Diversity in the cultural context makes sense because America is inseparable from the minority groups and collaboration is key to enhancing nationalism. Understanding other people’s culture is the first step towards appreciating it. America would not be what it is without the contribution of the various groups in the nation, and therefore, continued respect for cultural diversity is critical. Diversity in the world is not a modern phenomenon, and it is likely to advance even farther with globalization. No country in the world is self-sufficient, and therefore, it is vital for states to acknowledge diverse cultures to help them in collaboration endeavors. Equality should also be a principle concept in any society as there are no lesser humans. When different cultural groups come together, they form a pool of talents and skills leading to a more balanced community.
Diversity is also remarkable because it acknowledges the fact that every culture is valid rather than imposing one's culture to other people. For example, it would be wrong for the Christian community in America to force people to adopt the religion. People, therefore, have the freedom to believe in what they feel is right leading to the development of an all-inclusive society. Cultural diversity in the American society has led to the suppression of the negative attitudes towards other cultures. During the slave trade era, the white community viewed Africans and black Americans as slaves and a race that was meant to serve the Native Americans. During the time, black Americans and white Americans attended different schools and other social gatherings. In modern America, the negative attitude has been transformed through embracing diversity.
PART 2
The Sacredness of Cattle in India from an Emic Perspective
Hinduism is the native religion in India and prohibits slaughter or consumption of cows. In India, cattle are symbols of spiritual purity where true Hindu believers worship and revere cows. Most Hindus do not kill cattle because the act is believed to be morally wrong. Beef eating causes sicknesses thereby repulsing Hindus from not only killing but also eating related beef products. Spiritually, cattle are sacred and thus killing cattle is both spiritually and emotionally defiling and repulsive. Indian hotels do not have beef related menu since there are no customers for the meal and doing so would attract the religious people to strike an attack on the restaurants that go against the provision of religion.
Hindu religion regards cows as sacred because they provide humans with life-sustaining milk. As such, a cow is a symbol of a caretaker and a maternal figure to people. Lord Krishna Hindu deities grew up a cow harder and are depicted playing dancing Gopis and playing his flute amongst cows. Lord Krishna also goes by the name Gopola or Govinda which means protector and friend of cows. A true Hindu devotee considers feeding cows before making breakfast for oneself as a show of respect to the sacred spiritual figure. The Hindu scriptures demand believers to protect and care for cows and considers killing or eating cow meat a sin. In many states in India, it is illegal to slaughter cows no wonder it is not a mystery to see cows roaming freely even in the busy streets of India.
Ayurveda
is a significant component of sattvic milk qualities and dairy products (Jaffrelot, 2017). Ghee, fresh milk organic milk, buttermilk, yogurt are highly nutritious and a vital diet component. Apart from providing calcium and proteins to the body, these products are Ojas sources which make the human body healthy and improves immunity. Lord Shiva trusted the sacred bull for transport purposes making cows spiritual symbols. In the religious events, cows play an essential role while people beseech God to hear their players. Some emotional and physical illnesses require deeper and subtler healing through Vedic ceremonies. The holy cow offers the blessed drink which is an ingredient of the ceremony. The blessed drink also known as Panchamrit translates to the “nectar of the Gods” and is made up of sugar, ghee, honey, milk, and yogurt (Jaffrelot, 2017). Drinking of the Panchamrit infuses the divine energy to the ailing, and they are healed.
In its cultural context, the sacredness of cattle concept in India makes sense in that cows are more useful alive than dead because they continue providing products vital for human survival. An increased population of cows would mean that the production of products like milk, ghee, yogurt among others increases leading to improved human life. Other products of cows like dung can be used either as fuel or as soil supplements in the form of organic manure and cows can also be used for transport purposes. The accrued benefits of protecting and preserving cows are far much logical than killing them for a one day meal. The culture of protecting the sacredness of cows in India brings people together on religious matters creating unity.
References
Ford, J. B., West, D. C., & Sargeant, A. (2015). Emic and etic cross-cultural scale development. The sustainable global marketplace (pp. 387-387). Springer, Cham.
Hodge, S., Lieberman, L., & Murata, N. (2017). Essentials of teaching adapted physical education: Diversity, culture, and inclusion. Routledge.
Jaffrelot, C. (2017). Toward a Hindu State? Journal of Democracy, 28(3), 52-63.
