Jessica Paola Morales Rivera

Cultural Norms
11/16/19

Do you think it’s important to know about your ancestors, roots, ethnic, and religious

heritage? In the article cultural baggage the author describes it as non-important factor in life or

in relationships, when she wrote the article all she could answer was “none” when an

acquaintance asked about her heritage because she didn’t have any information about her

ancestors, her parents always said try something new and that’s what she followed, she never

focused on what was done in the past, she was her own person when referencing heritage, values

and beliefs.[ CITATION Bar92 \l 1033 ].

For starters, when trying to discover your cultural heritage, there are two ways to

approach remembering your ancestors. Either in a positive or a negative manner being that some

experiences or memories can be both. This is the case in the article when the author says,

“Throughout the 1960's and 70's I watched one group after another -- African-Americans,

Latinos, Native Americans -- stand up and proudly reclaim their roots while I just sank back ever

deeper into my seat”.[ CITATION Bar92 \l 1033 ] When we talk about cultural heritage, we can

include traditions such as food, language, music or some instruments that our ancestors used for

rituals, religion etc. the author Ehrenreich cannot because in her family they believe in doing

things differently compared to American culture, they are very traditional, they celebrate many

holidays which are filled with traditions, culture, beliefs, customs etc.
 Another way to reconnect with your ancestors is through the values that are passed down

from generation to generation, things to be proud of. Since birth your parents try to instill into

you their values, what’s right and what’s wrong and that’s more than likely wheat they were

taught by their parents your ancestors had a certain manner in which they conducted themselves

to be a functional part of the civilization and they wanted to continue to be looked at as such so

they used methods like punishing you for what’s wrong and rewarding you for what’s right this

encouraged good behavior. Most cultures have some sort of value system it just seems that

American ones tend to be a bit stricter because they value their appearance and how people

perceive them. Foreign cultures tend to be more liberal they have a broader range for things, but

the punishments seem to be more severe so in term they will give you the ability to do certain

things but if you take it too far they go to the extreme.

In addition to values another way that people reconnect to their cultural heritage is

through the beliefs they share like their religious beliefs. Most cultures share some sort of

religious belief whether it’s good or bad for example in America there are many religious beliefs

and most families pass these down as well for example my family in catholic and all through my

childhood I remember going to church every Sunday and praying before bed. I learned that I had

someone watching over me at all times and that I had to always be on my best behavior and not

commit sins. Unlike the author Ehrenreich who doesn’t believe in God not that there is

anything wrong with that but that’s the beliefs that were passed down to her by her family.

And she unknowingly passed that down to her kids as well in her culture that is normal

where in mine it is not.

 In conclusion, American and foreign cultures have many similarities and differences

and these are usually determined by what are ancestors past down to us our values, our

beliefs, and our culture are a direct representation of who they are. Even though in the

author Ehrenreich ancestral line they are not because they focus on doing things differently

and having the liberty to do what they want.

References

Ehrenreich, Barbara. "HERS; Cultural Baggage." The New York Times Magazine 5 April 1992:
16.
https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/05/magazine/hers-cultural-baggage.html

Reading: Values and Beliefs

Values and Beliefs

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/intro-to-sociology/chapter/values-and-beliefs/