10/26/2021; Week 7: Response to "Differences in Manners"

     One of Bro. Iver's stories very much resonated with me. The story of the time he took his wife to the barber who cut his hair when he was a little boy ended with her feeling like she was witnessing an argument between two men. Her husband explained to her that they were good friends and simply having a friendly debate. This reminded me of the time I had an intense debate with my father in front my newly-wed husband. My father and I had often loved to debate about many issues. He always told me that I need to pick a side and never sit on the fence. This teaching caused me to think deeply about many issues that I might have ignored. 

     The incident to which I referred above happened one day in his kitchen when the subject of pornography came up. He, being an non-member, saw little wrong with viewing it, but I felt differently. We argued vehemently, for over an hour, many times raising our voices. Of course, we were never angry one with another, just intense in our feelings. We even left with hugs and smiles that evening. However, on the way home, my husband criticized me for the disrespect I had showed my father. I would quickly learn that he had a much more formal relationship with his father and neither he nor his siblings would ever dream of speaking to their father this way, whether it be in the form of a friendly debate or not. I was shocked at the way my husband felt, because I had thought it was a very productive conversation between my dad and myself, but my husband thought I was incredibly rude. 

     Thus, we can see that not only can manner differences arise within different cultures, they can be prevalent in different families within the same culture. 

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