After reading more in depth about biodiversity and cultural diversity it is apparent to me that the two are interconnected. That is to say the biodiversity of a country, or region, can greatly influence the people who live and thrive in that ecosystem. Just take indigenous cultures for example and how their thoughts and ideas of the world and how it works is intimately involved in the flora, fauna and landscape that surrounds them. I believe a great deal of responsibility should be placed on governments in order to protect areas of ecological importance, but I do not believe that it is a government’s responsibility to actively protect cultural diversity.
I believe that governments play a vital role in establishing law and order, providing access to needed resources like safe drinking water, and establishing a quality education system for our children. In the world of today where immigration, technology and globalization is blending the cultures of our world together at a rapid pace I do not think that governments should make decisions on which cultures are important enough to “protect” and which are not. I believe that people will decide through the interconnectedness of their communities if the traditions and languages of their families heritage are important to save. I hope they are saved because there is a great deal to learn from them, but I do not think it is the responsibility of governments to ensure their survival.
One might argue that without government intervention many great cultures and traditions may be lost to father time and will never return. That is true, cultures and languages have already been lost, but that has already been happening for since the dawn of civilization. The empires of Egypt, Alexander the Great, and the Incas fell but is that to say we should rewind the clock and ask the people living in those regions today to go back to an ancient way of life? I would presume that most of those people would say no way to that prospect just like I wouldn’t want to emulate my puritan descendants. So yes, we could learn a great deal by using legislation to protect cultural diversity, but we may also lose by imposing government laws on people who welcome change.
I believe that governments play a vital role in establishing law and order, providing access to needed resources like safe drinking water, and establishing a quality education system for our children. In the world of today where immigration, technology and globalization is blending the cultures of our world together at a rapid pace I do not think that governments should make decisions on which cultures are important enough to “protect” and which are not. I believe that people will decide through the interconnectedness of their communities if the traditions and languages of their families heritage are important to save. I hope they are saved because there is a great deal to learn from them, but I do not think it is the responsibility of governments to ensure their survival.
One might argue that without government intervention many great cultures and traditions may be lost to father time and will never return. That is true, cultures and languages have already been lost, but that has already been happening for since the dawn of civilization. The empires of Egypt, Alexander the Great, and the Incas fell but is that to say we should rewind the clock and ask the people living in those regions today to go back to an ancient way of life? I would presume that most of those people would say no way to that prospect just like I wouldn’t want to emulate my puritan descendants. So yes, we could learn a great deal by using legislation to protect cultural diversity, but we may also lose by imposing government laws on people who welcome change.