Wednesday 26 March 2014

A cultural polyglot

Settling down to try to make sense of the menu is a common event these days. In the 50s menu's were short and to the point. Roast Lamb or Beef. brussel sprouts and carrots with gravy and Yorkshire Pudding or fish and chips Hake or Cod with mushy pees. Today we wade through foreign dishes that are as remote from our memory bank "yes I enjoyed that" as the man in the moon. There are so many of them, its impossible to remember which you had last time and you resort to sticking the proverbial pin in and hoping for the best. Conversation has been enlightened by having so many varied backgrounds around the table. Topics can swing from South Asia to Tottenham, religion to customs and there is a healthy spirit to learn and to inform. 
Religions were formed mostly in the Middle East and the sub continent of India at a time when people and customs were different from today. And yet the seed corn of all human relationships were then as now based on the inter-relationship between men protecting their women and the women protecting their offspring. 
Based on these twin fundamentals, societies from the past to the present weave an intricate similarity which are mimiced by the laws which religious teaching preaches to group you happen to belong to. There is much in common and they all have their society at heart. The difficulty arises when like tribalism people take sides putting weight on one religious group to the disadvantage of another.  

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