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So if you weigh all the good and all the bad that culture does do you think its necessary in the modern world.

One pro of culture that i've seen is that it can bring people together in times of hardship, but at the same time culture can promote outdated views such as sexism and racism.

True. Some parts of it can be cool like some holidays and stuff, but many other things like ignorance, bigotry, and other barbaric practices are also promoted by "tradition". To me, culture is relatively unimportant. It can be good, but I can live without it if it's for the greater good. I prefer to cherrypick the good stuff out of the outdated pile of shit and flush the rest away. As time goes on, less culture is necessary.

"Culture" is a broad and generic term that represents how humans live their daily lives, interact with each other and such. What you're really talking about is tradition, which are customs that are passed overtime and may or may not be "outdated". Two are closely related but by no means the same thing.

One can't really give a pro or con to a culture, because a culture is what defines the differences of bland humanity, the great 'kind of maybe created' wonderment which defines us as various Germanics to various Celtics and so on.

Culture for the most part binds a common people by a way of customs, traditions, ways of thinking, religion, creeds, morals, and even how we typically tolerate others. As Americans, we are a extremely cultured people because we became a mixing pot of various races and ethnicities and our republican and trading traditions which have been kept very strong for almost 300 years.

We can define ourselves as american because of the traditions as americans we share and branch out, a culture created by isolation from Europe and our pride within our freedom from hard core government and our clinging to it.

We need to keep culture alive and well. Otherwise, the future is filled with politically correct piss ants whom want to live in Boring Grayland. People want to celebrate the glory of their people openly, not hide it in corners. I wish for my future kin to see the bright red, blue, and white light up the skies while they eat ribs and chips while we play rock and roll.

Basically what everyone else says. Now that I think about it, I was mostly talking about tradition. Culture for the most part I enjoy.

TripleA9000 said:

…do you think its necessary in the modern world…

I don't think it's possible to be an intelligent being and not have culture. It's like arguing against being human.

Okay okay. Culture is a description of what people do. Tradition is what people do that they have done for generations. There isn't too much of a divide between the two.

But culture goes far beyond what funny clothes you wear when you celebrate national holidays. It's more then just the food you eat and your bone structure. It is a way of living, an unwritten code of conduct that teaches you what is right an wrong, and what you should do with your life.

Your traditions can support bigotry, OR they can vehemently oppose it. Some peoples or nations have long had cultures of equality and caring. Others, not so much. If you look at ancient civilizations and say: wow, they were cruel, you are only reflecting YOUR OWN culture because that is where you got your definition of cruelty.

If you feel like culture is "outdated" or "morally wrong", it's because your culture is shifting. You are merely looking at a culture you don't belong to.

What may seem good to one person may seem bad to another. Latin Americans are more touchy, whereas white European Americans prefer a wider personal space (of course this can differ from person to person). Neither is bad, but one may seem impolite if not understood by the other. This is a largely unimportant example, but it illustrates that people see things in a very different light, and what is okay to one person could be abhorrent to another.

Some traditions we can recognize as being a good influence and a bad one at the same time. In the U S of A, we have a long standing tradition of questioning authority and bucking the system. That's good and bad: it spurred the American Revolution and the Civil Rights movements but also lynch mobs and paramilitary cattle farmers.

If we have traditions we don't like, should we try to change them? That question has been asked by every generation of young people since time immemorial.