I agree about the programming, having worked in many countires and cultures. in Africa and East Asia... When I realized this was one day inSomalia I saw a woman dressed not like Somalia women are, who though Muslims do not always cover their hair or face, but this one was ALL Covered, I could not even see her eyes, she was in Black... and walked in the sun, Mogadishu has a 99.9% level of humidity... she walked rapidly... I looked at her and thought... well for her its no doubt her way, its natural, she was brought up that way... and that is where I reaiized she is programmed to think like that just like... The Somali women are programmed to do whatever they do and I OMG ME TOO I am programmed to do and think and behave like expected of a Danish Woman.... ... etc etc... AND...
Now at 84 and retired after working for 45 years in Africa and East Asia... with Social work... its reather painful to see how intolerant our politicians are, and how they manipulate and play on the differences between out native Danish population and the people who moved here for various reasons, mostly due to wars (we were part of provoking BTW)... Where I see and know our similarities and I rather like seeing all the different looking people ... that I am used to... so used that I ouatomatically speak in English to them... only to find some of them are 2nd generation they were born here and speaks even better Danish than I do ... etc etc etc I could write books about it... anyway I think all these people who came from other countries, cultures, religions etc are an enrichment... not sometthing we should be afraid of... we should get to know one another, and respect oneanother...
AND BTW... am currently watching a Russian series on Peter The Great... and learning how Russians
see their history and that of Europe and the whole world at his time... and compare with what I learned in School ie how Danes learn to see the world at that time... again not just programming... but in the case of Denmark what we don't learn.... WOW.... no wonder there are wars.
I am Danish by a genome test - 90% Viking and proud of it. Although born in E England, I have no alliance to the Anglo-Saxons who are a pugnatious and warlike set of tribes. They invaded Enland in 500AD, when the Romans left, and then 500 years of dark ages. They inherited a wonderful Roman civilisation and destroyed it in a century, leaving the Normans (the Norsemen) to pick up the pieces in 1066.
Gordon what a wonderful, thoughtful post, exploring how culture frames us from the very beginning. There have been studies of maternal verbal engagement with children that have correlated Chinese mums attention to visual detail in the environment and commenting upon it with their children, to developing the visual skills needed for writing Hanzi. I can't put my finger on the studies just now but when i was a pedagogical adviser for Early Years teachers in China I found a lot of those studies. The mother's behaviour was totally unconscious, of course, it was one of those "cultural patternings' that you speak of, that develop over time. This is a great post, linking direct personal experience with theory. In light of your comments, I've just listened again to your son, who attributes the poem to Wang Wei - but who cares - his articulation, expression, and deep confidence in reciting this poem is superb. You and his Mum must be so proud!!
I agree about the programming, having worked in many countires and cultures. in Africa and East Asia... When I realized this was one day inSomalia I saw a woman dressed not like Somalia women are, who though Muslims do not always cover their hair or face, but this one was ALL Covered, I could not even see her eyes, she was in Black... and walked in the sun, Mogadishu has a 99.9% level of humidity... she walked rapidly... I looked at her and thought... well for her its no doubt her way, its natural, she was brought up that way... and that is where I reaiized she is programmed to think like that just like... The Somali women are programmed to do whatever they do and I OMG ME TOO I am programmed to do and think and behave like expected of a Danish Woman.... ... etc etc... AND...
Now at 84 and retired after working for 45 years in Africa and East Asia... with Social work... its reather painful to see how intolerant our politicians are, and how they manipulate and play on the differences between out native Danish population and the people who moved here for various reasons, mostly due to wars (we were part of provoking BTW)... Where I see and know our similarities and I rather like seeing all the different looking people ... that I am used to... so used that I ouatomatically speak in English to them... only to find some of them are 2nd generation they were born here and speaks even better Danish than I do ... etc etc etc I could write books about it... anyway I think all these people who came from other countries, cultures, religions etc are an enrichment... not sometthing we should be afraid of... we should get to know one another, and respect oneanother...
AND BTW... am currently watching a Russian series on Peter The Great... and learning how Russians
see their history and that of Europe and the whole world at his time... and compare with what I learned in School ie how Danes learn to see the world at that time... again not just programming... but in the case of Denmark what we don't learn.... WOW.... no wonder there are wars.
Thank you for sharing your elaborations and experiences Bente, much appreciated.
I am Danish by a genome test - 90% Viking and proud of it. Although born in E England, I have no alliance to the Anglo-Saxons who are a pugnatious and warlike set of tribes. They invaded Enland in 500AD, when the Romans left, and then 500 years of dark ages. They inherited a wonderful Roman civilisation and destroyed it in a century, leaving the Normans (the Norsemen) to pick up the pieces in 1066.
I am appalled at what the British have done for centuries and even now are angling for war with Russia yet again. Well, this time they will live to regret it. https://austrianpeter.substack.com/p/britains-collapse-2025-part-2-birmingham?sd=pf
The Danes are not what they used to be... !!!!
LOL - so true!
Let’s rewrite what they forgot:
Wealth is who you hold.
Profit is peace you sold.
Legacy is love untold.
https://thehiddenclinic.substack.com/p/the-lost-ledger
Gordon what a wonderful, thoughtful post, exploring how culture frames us from the very beginning. There have been studies of maternal verbal engagement with children that have correlated Chinese mums attention to visual detail in the environment and commenting upon it with their children, to developing the visual skills needed for writing Hanzi. I can't put my finger on the studies just now but when i was a pedagogical adviser for Early Years teachers in China I found a lot of those studies. The mother's behaviour was totally unconscious, of course, it was one of those "cultural patternings' that you speak of, that develop over time. This is a great post, linking direct personal experience with theory. In light of your comments, I've just listened again to your son, who attributes the poem to Wang Wei - but who cares - his articulation, expression, and deep confidence in reciting this poem is superb. You and his Mum must be so proud!!
Thank you Debbie for your valuable elaboration, appreciated ! Yes his attribution to Wang Wei, I have made note of this at the end of my article :-)
An excellent discourse - thank you Gordon. But isn't China a secular country? Where is a place for our Great Creator? https://austrianpeter.substack.com/p/bible-research-intelligent-design?r=hhrlz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true