Our perspective of things and methods of doing things are rooted in culture. Yet most people today really do not understand what culture is beyond a political buzz word.

In simple terms culture is the shared perspective of a group. It shades understanding and how things are approached. A simple example is fried chicken. In the culture I grew up in you never picked it up with your fingers. I do not even do it today. In the corporate culture of management I participated, peer and subordinate females were not treated “in general” as female. They were not automatically allowed to proceed first through a door or be seated. They were not deferred to nor expected it. By mutual consent they were sexless peers.

Culture can be a positive thing that contributes to the social well being or it can be a handicap. In certain strata of society, particularly among males, striving in school is disparaged. We see this trend playing out in the larger nation. Females finish school and make up a larger percentage involved in higher education. Another case is “capitalism”. In America there is a belief in “the divine right of capitalism”. Business should do anything to make and increase profits, nor be constrained. Wall Street cheers layoffs, outsourcing, curtailing labor benefits and wages. In Europe and some other parts of the world, the culture focuses more on social purpose. Therefore they are more inclined to regulate business in the public interests. Just look at all the trouble GM has had trying to use the American approach with Opel in Germany. The German government has restrained GM to guard the public interests.

Culture changes. In my generation the nation believed in a separation of Church and State. Today the government gives preferential treatment to Christianity and its religious variances [look as all the pious proclaiming politicians]. I definitely do not see this as a good thing. Part of the Middle East initiative is fighting the Crusades all over again. I do not want public facilities that by law are supposed to be governed by non-religious specific guidelines to have the rules circumvented. This is to allow religious use where they violate the guidelines and execute their beliefs. When challenged they claim religious discrimination. In reality it is discrimination of everyone else.

Finally, American culture is predicated on “manifest destiny”. This means that “the American Way" is the best and “must” be adopted by the rest of the world. In reality “the American Way” has had at least as many failures as successes. The rest of the world is more able to see this. We are blinded by cultural myopia.

It is hypocrisy celebrating Labor Day when culturally we eviscerate labor.