Cultural Norm Analysis

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As I have grown older I've become more aware that as humans we are very constrained in regards to our culture. We grow up with certain formalities that we have been taught to follow, and are guilty when we disobey them. But why do we feel ashamed to act certain ways? As humans, we want to feel that we have freedom in our lives and can do what we want, but without our knowledge, we are all answering to a higher power. Those who hold power influence those below them to act in certain ways and shame those who do not follow by example. The norm that I decided to break was approaching people who I do not know and ask them about their personal lives. As humans, we tend to stick together with others we know and do not normally reach out to people …show more content…
But why do we follow these norms? And where does this stem from? I believe that this all stems at the beginning of our lives, by being taught how to act normal through our parents and schools. At a young age, we are all taught how to properly act around people in public, and what not to do. We also learn to identify when we see others breaking norms, and can even shame those who have. We identify those who do so as outsiders and toss them to the side. As we grow up not only do we listen to our parents, but also the laws in our society. But it is much bigger than just the laws, they are simply a blueprint for what we believe is acceptable in our society. The reason behind why we do these things and follow the social norms in our societies all comes down to fear. The people who create these normalities in our society are those who hold power. We are afraid of those who hold power because if we do not do what they find acceptable, we are afraid of being ridiculed and punished. That is why we follow along with what they view as normal. But when we listen to these norms it is almost as if you break a law and what you did is illegal, while in our minds breaking a cultural norm is just as wrong as killing
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