Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, customs, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.
But I prefer the way it is defined by Rick Roderick;
“Mass culture is enlightenment in reverse. Its goal is precisely to wipe out that last little garrison of human autonomy.”
In a world where information is easily available, practical knowledge at our fingertips, and abundance never experienced by ancient royalty at our disposal, we are devout of ourselves. Anxiety, depression, and fear rule our lives. We are always on pins and needles… always searching for the top 5 ways to solve very complex problems. There is little trust in any of our institutions or the individuals who operate them. Regardless of political ideologies, we all know that politicians are just posturing to maintain the status quo.
Even our modern models for artists and spiritual leaders, tend to only represent empty symbols of materialism and consumerism. Mostly everything we do is to showcase how different (either by appearance or status) we are from those less fortunate souls. We know it all, we have all the data, we have master nature, we are kings & queens. The only thing left is to indulge in our greatness and feel pity and disdain for those who are not like us.
It is clear as day to me, that we have gained the world and lost our souls in the process.
Culture, at least in our current time and place in history, is the most dangerous of the heads of the Dragon. Its ego-centric meritocratic directive has taken control over both science and religion. It robs us of our humanity by masquerading situations with sophisticated terms, fashionable trends, and massive amounts of “reality” which highlight our smallness and prescribe the material antidote for all that is missing in our lives.
But we willingly give ourselves to these so call cultural pillars for security’s sake and because we do not want to be left behind. Culture will continue to devour our humanity, not because there is some secret society controlling the world, but because as long as we ignore what our souls ask for, it will attempt to fill the emptiness we feel. It is as Ralph Waldo Emerson describes in his Self-Reliance essay.
“Society everywhere is in a conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most requests is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.”