Culture is superior to law

 In the west, long gone are the days when culture was at all relevant, except for maybe to few people who carry their culture to this land with them and practice it as such. As a whole there is little if any culture left in the west, in many ways this is good when speaking of western culture. The culture that was brought to the west by white people was nothing special, it was a self centered ethnocentric culture of domination and genocide. So as far as cultures go, good riddance to that one, though many are trying to maintain this as Christian nationalism and white supremacy, which go hand in hand. So for this piece I am going to focus on cultures I have either read about or personally experienced. Ive read of a handful of tribes and lived in Ethiopia. 

One of the major things I noticed in Ethiopia was there are not that many laws or even law enforcement to enforce the laws they do have. Initially this perplexed me as I could not see with my western eyes how a country could maintain itself without law and those who enforce it. However, being steeped in this culture for two years in Ethiopia and another 16 in my marriage I learned that it was culture that governed the behavior of people, not law and not law enforcement enforcing laws. In fact at that time I began to see how creating numerous laws and a police to enforce them actually created more problems and less freedom than say Ethiopia. 

I was able to see how so many cultures and ethnicities got along in Ethiopia so well. Although occasionally there are political tensions that spill over and create problems. As for the everyday Ethiopian, theres little problem in getting along with fellow Ethiopians of a different ethnicity or religion. 

One of the character traits that western capitalism rewards is a sort of brash self centeredness. It seems as if those who get rewarded in this society must be sociopaths who care for nothing but profits. By contrast, Ethiopian culture shuns this sort of behavior. While it most certainly exists there, as with any capitalist society, its not as rampant. As an example its never looked upon favorably to talk or brag about ones self or ones accomplishments, where in the west thats exactly how you get a job, you basically have to brag about yourself and accomplishments, its how you get ahead. Now, this isnt to say people will not know about what you are doing or have done, as your family will talk you up, but for you to talk yourself up? That is frowned upon. This is just one example of many on how culture is superior to law. 

When I read about different tribes this is one of the things I seek out in the writings, about the culture and of how the culture treats those that deviate from it. How the culture keeps people from getting big heads, how the culture keeps people from behaving in a way that would disrupt the tribe, and the consequences. Shunning someone for deviating is a common practice amongst tribes until the person has suffered and appropriate amount of time. The most severe that I have read thus far is being banished from the tribe completely, which is basically a death sentence in most cases as you need a good size group in order to have a functioning tribe, depending on the tribe and region in which the tribe is located. 

What the west needs is a new culture and it will get one eventually as the United States is currently engaged in a culture war between fascists and communists/socialists/anarchists. So it may be a culture that reverts to fascism, or it may be one that actually has the interests of the people in mind. You may disagree but you should be able to see that more laws do not solve problems, they in fact create more problems and more law enforcement clearly solves nothing but again creates more problems. This idea that laws and law enforcement is meant to solve crime is an absurdity told to us by a country rapidly descending into total fascism. The police state serves their interests, not ours, especially when the supreme court ruled that police have no obligation to protect citizens. It is pretty obvious to anyone that they do not serve us, only the ruling class to protect their property.

Other examples from Ethiopian Culture

In Ethiopia there is no legal drinking age. If a 13 year old was so inclined they could get some beer and get drunk. In Ethiopia you do not see teens doing this. In my two years there I dont think I once seen any teens drinking at any point in time. So what is stopping them from doing this? Its culture that keeps them from doing this. Being a drunk in Ethiopia is culturally frowned upon as it reflects on friends and family that you are in fact a drunk. This would ostracize you from them and you would be more likely to quit drinking so that you could again be with your family and friends without the shame of ruining your life.

Also, there are no laws against Marijuana. Ive met people that smoke it, Ive met people who grow it and sell it, but its not a big deal there. Again, why arent people in droves smoking mass amounts of Marijuana every day there? Again the answer is culture. Its frowned upon to become chemically dependent and this again reflects on family and friends which may lead to ostracizing of the individual. It would again encourage someone to stop smoking, at least too much, so that they can again be with family and friends.

This being said, nobody judges you, lectures you, or arrests you for doing either of these things. Abusing drugs and alcohol is culturally unacceptable and so more often than not people simply dont do them, at least in excess.

I am also reminded of an African proverb that "A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth" which is exactly the sort of thing we are seeing in America with mass shootings and gun violence almost as a whole. Ethiopias culture is very social, one could say its a socialist culture, not a socialist society but culture. What I mean by that is its very social and everyone is helping everyone to ensure that together they all succeed. I can recall going out for coffee in Ethiopia, thinking we would grab a coffee and then go on about our day. In reality coffee is a social activity. The coffee is roasted and brewed right in front of you and you drink while socializing. I think I spent around 3 hours drinking coffee and socializing. 

I quickly found out that almost everything in Ethiopia has a social aspect to it. Even when I would go out to eat with friends and family we would be dining and socializing for hours upon hours and the restraunt would not be trying to force us out or get us to spend more money. It was expected that we would be spending many hours eating and socializing. When there I truly felt as if I belonged, even when I was generally the only white person in the room. I did not feel the need to use my cell phone, or spend time on the internet at all. I was for the first time in my life comfortable, I felt embraced by the village. In Ethiopia they say the best medicine is another person and I believe that is true. When I came back to the US I remember sinking into a deep depression as the individualism, not the individual, embraced me here. I felt alone, not like when I was in Ethiopia. 

In the US there is a law for virtually everything, and a penalty of some kind for almost every violation. I can get cited for jaywalking as if I am not smart enough to safely cross the street I need the government regulating that and punishing me for not crossing in a crosswalk when I am fully capable of looking both ways and crossing the street safely. The US is a nation of laws which has created a people incapable of doing anything themselves and there are people who rebel against this, rightfully so. We do not need more laws, we do not need more law enforcement as those equal a reduction in freedom. We need a unified culture and less laws.