My personal
culture depicted by an image of a floating coconut in the ocean enforces my
confusion in regards to who I was, who I am and who I am becoming. I am still
drifting in the sense of finding myself however as floating coconuts are known
to grow islands I believe to eventually find land. However, on this journey I
carry my memories – family, religion, Cook Islands culture; every experience up
to this point. Initially, I believed that although I was confused I would
eventually find myself and that would be me forever however I have come to
understand that identity cannot be fixed but rather a never ending process
which is enforced by Owczarski and Cremasco (2015).
Personally I am
confused with my identity in the sense that what I show society contradicts
what I feel inside specifically religious beliefs. According to Lawler every
individual has many identities – these vary and often contradict thus must be
managed (2008). This supports my belief that we sway with the wind in the sense
that our identity is dependent on circumstances as depicted by the image of
good vs evil. This forced me to think that if we can consciously be anything
depending on circumstances we can be true to self and show what we feel inside,
regardless. I was amazed to see that many were firm on their identity and thus
encouraging for myself to be firm on mine.
I see
inequality in society as it attempts to achieve equality at the cost of
contradicting the values of others in terms of human rights. This was depicted by a torn up bible inferring
the contradiction of
values amongst majorities and minorities in society, specifically gay marriages
etc. According to article
18 everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, n.d). After
recalling a lecture on this it seems to have strengthen my acceptance of the
corruption I see in society. That’s just the way it is as everyone has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. I noticed that majority
of the people although outlined contradiction in their perspectives insisted
that something should and could be done – this is not the same for me. I have
come to understand that in society, I will keep and strengthen my values and know
that they do the same – life goes on.
An historical
influence I believe in society today would be values, morals, everything that
attributes to human nature originating from the Holy Bible. According to
Edwards as cited by Tyler, inheritance of cultural attributes of identity are
passed on through upbringing (2005). This is also consistent with Swidler as
cited by Usborne and Sablonniere enforcing that culture to an extent shapes an
individual through values and stories (2014). Personally, I found this to be
true realizing that my siblings and I are similar in the sense of values and
belief. I believe this to be a result of our Christian upbringing and
especially stories told by my parents and grandparents. Take the bravery of
David against Goliath – values engraved in our minds of courage and faith in
God will always exist for application in everyday life. In contrast with the
last lecture, I believe this strengthens my belief as the Holy Bible is the
oldest book of time and thus the true origin of values and morals embedded in
stories told in contemporary context. Therefore ultimately the underlying psychological
inheritance of our human nature.
References
Lawler, S.
(2008). Identity: Sociological perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Polity
Press.
Owczarski, M., & Cremasco, F, V, M.
(Eds). (2015). Solidarity, memory and
identity. Newcastle, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing.
The universal declaration of human rights. (n.d). Retrieved
April 1, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/
Tyler, K. (2005). The genealogical
imagination: The inheritance of interracial identities. The Sociological Review. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-
Usborne, E., & Sablonniere, R.
(2014). Understanding My Culture Means Understanding Myself:
The Function of Cultural Identity Clarity for Personal Identity Clarity and
Personal Psychological Well-Being. Journal
for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 44(4). doi: 10.1111/jtsb.12061
