American Verna
Why is that humans were able to practically “take over” their environment and leave all other animal species far behind in the race of survival? Not many would argue that we were able to do so just because we can walk upright and we have unspecialized teeth. In fact, humans are capable of many things that separate us from the animals. Our far most important trait is the ability to analyze and comprehend complex subject matters. From that we can learn, understand and communicate with one another so we could accomplish things as a group, a group which one day became so complex that without structure and laws, chaos would preside. In our times, we see many distinct cultures where each has its own way of organizing and way of keeping its people in harmony. Although most of the world is leaning towards democracy, there are few nations who believe in the ancient ways. One of the most controversial civilizations studied is the Indian civilization, which developed and flourished as early as 7000 B.C.E. The controversy rises from a harsh though well-thought classification of people due to their skin color and other physical characteristics. To democratic America this may sound a bit horr
ifying although some even argue that the United States maintains some sort of a caste system perhaps even as harsh as the one in India. This idea can surely be proven wrong through a close comparison of the Indian social structure and the American freedom. A false conclusion should not be made that there is no sort of a caste system in America, but one that is not as rigid nor providing social importance as the one in Ancient Indian culture. A lack of diversity keeps a structure solid. Although there are differences between the castes, there is still a sense of nationalism and belonging to a culture, not just a caste. In the U.S., Non-Americans have a hard time adapting a sense of belonging to a whole and therefore feel insecure. Also lack of diversity creates less of a difference between the body of religion and the body of law. In many societies, there are times where the following of religion interferes in with the way of the law. Perhaps a radical example, human sacrifice is still practiced by few religions. If it were not for the prohibition of performing such acts, maybe those religions would be more accepted and popular within contemporary societies. The incorporation of law and religion makes a system much less complex, therefore more rigid. In India, there is a major integration of both law and religion. However, it seems as though religion comes first, in the supporting of the caste system. Louis Dumont suggests in his book that the caste system was developed as a result of the corruption of the Brahmins. He says that the “philosophy of enlightenment, ‘superstition’ was an invention of the priests, for their own benefit.” This theory supports their strong belief in religion. The people of the lower castes were so ‘religiously naive’ that thoughts of corruption in this religious class were non-existent. This strong belief in religion is perhaps the backbone of the strong Indian social structure. There are two main approaches that could break the firmness of a social structure. One comes from outside the system by enculturation, and attacks the un-fairness of the structure with compare to other ones. A second approach could be made by the lower classes demanding for better conditions. In India, there seems to be a form of harmony and peace within the lower classes. The “Herd Theory” explains this phenomenon by going back to the nature of human behavior. As other animals, people seem to think that a great form of self-defense is associating with ones who seem share common characteristics. By belonging to a “herd” one’s opinion is backed up by others and seem to have greater impact. If one were to leave the group, he would feel lonely, powerless and more vulnerable. A caste system cannot be more rigid than the one that its own people are happy with. In the United States, which is also known as the “Salad Bowl”, there are so many separate groups where one does not have
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Approximate Word count = 2008
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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