tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post478421312426402423..comments2024-03-27T06:58:00.659-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: Blogging to My PhD: Melting, Mixing, and Patching American DreamsMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-57679891147267570402014-04-01T07:48:44.577-05:002014-04-01T07:48:44.577-05:00"We're a bit of a stew just by ourselves...."We're a bit of a stew just by ourselves." YES! I completely agree. I think that all of our identities involve conflict. In fact, I think it's the conflict themselves that actually creates the identity. Without the tension, we wouldn't have any way to define ourselves.Michelle (Balancing Jane)http://www.balancingjane.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-66763438203054165292014-03-31T20:00:23.102-05:002014-03-31T20:00:23.102-05:00I've been thinking about this all my life, and...I've been thinking about this all my life, and I'd say this is a really good consideration of the matter. The initial question (in college days) was "Should we aim for universal values/identities or celebrate our individual differences and traditions?" It seemed to be an either/or situation--and I puzzled over it--but that formulation was too simplistic. If every culture was really just the same, worthy or not, it would be pretty boring. Also, no man is an island, we contain multitudes ( see, poetry is good for something!), and on top of that we CHANGE over time (if we learn anything), influenced by everyone and everything around us. We're a bit of a stew just by ourselves. Still, I do feel some core identity, a "self," whether or not that's just a construct. And I do still tend to look for universals (what is human/humane) within people of every ethnicity, gender, tradition, and variation of any of those things. Old ways die hard, perhaps. --Carol N.wilyouwontyou .noreply@blogger.com