10-23-2007, 04:08 PM
Aqua Wrote:It seems like we assimilate to any and every other culture, or at least the parts of cultures that aren't contrary to western idealologies.
That doesn't mean the original culture is diluted. The Roman empire (an ironic analogy, considering recent discussions) spread its culture over the majority of the known world. No one can argue that the Roman culture was an amorphous, indistinct idea, yet it is true that the culture changed drastically as it went from place to place (considering they allowed the 'conquered' peoples an incredible amount of freedom in retaining their own traditions). Further, the Roman culture was itself a variant of Greek culture.
Culture is like biological nomenclature. We can call it one thing, or another thing, but in the end, our words don't define where one thing starts and another stops. Culture, especially in our modern world where nearly everyone is connected in one way or another, is starting to lose its ties to a particular nation, and with that, edges are blurred. The center of that culture, though, is still quite distinct. For now, anyway.

