Who Needs Culture?

Have you ever stopped to consider why we need culture? Not why we have it, but why we NEED it? Culture, the socially learned and shared ideas, behaviors, and material components of a society, is arguably the most important characteristic of our species. We need it because it helps us get along with one another. For example, we have all heard of American Sign Language (ASL), the communication system used by deaf people that involves gestures and signs. However, did you know there is a Black Sign Language and a Honduran Sign Language? The former was created by deaf African-Americans during segregation because they were excluded from schools that taught Whites ASL and they needed a way to converse. The latter was created by Honduran deaf students 5-10 years ago because they were not being taught how to sign by their schools. The African-American and Honduran experiences reminds us that language consists of words and symbols used to communicate. Whether spoken, written, signed, or whistled, language is one of the aspects of culture that helps us get along with one another.

In addition to language, norms, established guidelines and expectations of behavior, are crucial to the culture of a society. Norms cover a range of behaviors, including everything from folkways to laws. Folkways are informal and common norms that guide everyday behavior and include things like facing the door when riding in an elevator or covering your mouth when you sneeze. While typically adhered to by members of society, folkways are less serious than laws, formal and legal rules enforced by the state. Laws are encoded norms that society takes very seriously. Laws are also the basis of a society’s criminal justice system. Why do we NEED norms? To tell us what behavior is acceptable or unacceptable in society; something that helps us get along with each other.

Another aspect of culture is values, collective ideas about what is desirable and undesirable in society. Values are what justify the norms of a society. Can you think of things valued by your generation but not by your grandparents’ generation? Tattoos are one example. The fact that this form of body modification is valued by current generations but not by previous generations tells us that values not only justify norms but can also change over time. Additionally, different segments of society may value things other segments do not value. This should lead us to consider that values, norms, and even culture are relative to time, place, and community. While values may change over time, what does not change is the fact that sharing common values or understanding the differences in our values helps us get along with one another.

We not only need culture, but culture also needs us. Without a community or society to maintain it, culture fades away. When culture disappears, aspects of who we are as a society also fade away. Culture is what makes us who we are, and the fact that it helps us get along with one another is something that will never fade away.