After reading the article “The Case for Contamination” by Kwame Anthony Appiah I realized that theres a lot going on out there in all these different countries. His major focus was on how all these different religious views play a major role in these cultures.
He also goes more in depth on two major groups “The Cosmopolitans and The Universalist”, and even gives us his point of view on what he agrees on.Religion played an important role in each of the communities he spoke about. The one that intrigued me the most was when he spoke about how Muslim woman really don't have equal rights as many of the woman in the West. He sets the example of how woman in the West are allowed to swim half naked and be around men, but if Muslim woman were to do that they would be severely punished.
He also mentioned a t.v show that is completely legal to watch over there, yet if people in the community would act like it they would also be killed. Another culture he spoke about was how Chinese women practiced foot-binding for a thousand years and what once was considered beautiful became ugly and a type of disfigurement.He gave us many examples of how cultures have changed/adapted their traditions to accommodate certain needs in todays lifestyle. He gives the example of how expensive it is to obtain certain textile materials in communities and sets the Ghanaians as an example, questioning if traditions should really have a price to authenticity ? He also speaks about how young college students in different societies have adapted to a new belief of thinking they deserve to talk to their father as a friend more than just a father figure.
He mentions that shows like "Days of Our Lives" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" have influenced the way they see things. For example how if they love a woman they should tell them that way they know if she feels the same back. He also speaks about how the generations of the past were raised to be the men of the family and take upon themselves to take care of the family as well as being the farmers of their land. Yet in the life we are living today that is not always possible due to the major increase in the cost of todays lifestyle many of those farmers have had to find other jobs to maintain their family.A major portion of the story was comparing “The Universalist and The Cosmopolitans” in different aspects.
The author himself claims to be on the Cosmopolitan side which I myself agree with as well. He had a lot of negative things to say about the Universalist like how intolerant they are to changes and new customs which often lead to murder. I agreed with how he spoke about how the Cosmopolitans believe women should have equal rights to vote, work outside of their homes, and be protected from physical abuse from men no matter who they are. He set really strong examples for the Universalist naming men like Osama bin Laden.Reading this article made me realize that changes or as the author would say “Contamination” is a good thing. If cultures stay with their strict regimens and don't adapt to how the world is changing and the fast pace of life they are just going to stay behind.
The world is not going to stop its evolution with technologies, crops, ideas, and believes just because one culture does not agree with what is happening. I think adaptation is good it builds character. I do not think people should lose their traditions but they should modernize them into what is possible today.
