Individual Rights vs. Multiculturalism

seribulan

"One of the trickier problems in liberal thought is how to reconcile individual rights with multiculturalism, given that many other cultures do not share our conception of individual rights. Suppose some other culture heavily restricts the freedom of women, forcing girl-children into arranged marriages, and barring them access to education, etc. Can we say that what they're doing is wrong? It certainly conflicts with our values, but as the relativist is wont to say, "who are we to judge?" On what basis are we to say that our cultural values are objectively superior to those of other cultures?"

antara lain yg menjadi persoalan adalah budaya berkhatan, stail berpakaian, adat-istiadat yg pelik seperti membendung kaki cthnya, budaya berhibur, budaya poligami spt di Utah, budaya hidup spt golongan Mormon cthnya...dsb...

mysara

"di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung"
budaya atau adat bersignifikan terhadap bangsa yg mengamalkannya, tiada bangsa boleh mengatakan bhw budaya bangsanya lebih baik drpd budaya bangsa org lain tanpa bias.
jika hal itu berlaku, tiada bezanya kita dgn filosofi "whiteman burden" yg menganggap tugas mereka utk 'membudayakan' kaum2 pagan yg berbudaya lain drpd mereka

seribulan

tepek sini plak...

Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden (1899)

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Born in British India in 1865, Rudyard Kipling was educated in England before returning to India in 1882, where his father was a museum director and authority on Indian arts and crafts. Thus Kipling was thoroughly immersed in Indian culture: by 1890 he had published in English about 80 stories and ballads previously unknown outside India. As a result of financial misfortune, from 1892-96 he and his wife, the daughter of an American publisher, lived in Vermont, where he wrote the two Jungle Books. After returning to England, he published "The White Man's Burden" in 1899, an appeal to the United States to assume the task of developing the Philippines, recently won in the Spanish-American War. As a writer, Kipling perhaps lived too long: by the time of his death in 1936, he had come to be reviled as the poet of British imperialism, though being regarded as a beloved children's book author. Today he might yet gain appreciation as a transmitter of Indian culture to the West.

What is it today's reader finds so repugnant about Kipling's poem? If you were a citizen of a colonized territory, how would you respond to Kipling?


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Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban si orang putih

Send forth the best ye breed--
hantarlah yang terbaik dr. kamu

Go bind your sons to exile
Nyahkanlah anak2 kamu

To serve your captives' need;
utk melayani keperluan tangkapan2 kamu

To wait in heavy harness,
menunggu dlm belenggu yg berat

On fluttered folk and wild--
pada puak yg bilau dan liar--

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
tangkapan baru kamu orang2 yg memberontak

Half-devil and half-child.
separuh-iblis dan separuh-keanakan

Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban orang putih--

In patience to abide,
Sabar menanti,

To veil the threat of terror
menyembunyi ancaman yg menakutkan

And check the show of pride;
dan menjaga keangkuhan yg terserlah

By open speech and simple,
dgn pengucapan yg terbuka dan simpel,

An hundred times made plain
beratus kali dijadikan mudah

To seek another's profit,
utk mencari keuntungan org lain

And work another's gain.
dan mengerjakan hasil org lain.

Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban si orang putih--

The savage wars of peace--
perang2 dahsyat demi keamanan

Fill full the mouth of Famine
penuhi mulut yg kebuluran

And bid the sickness cease;
dan kurangkan penyakit

And when your goal is nearest
dan bila gol hampir tercapai

The end for others sought,
penamat bagi mereka yg lain

Watch sloth and heathen Folly
lihat kemalasan dan kesilapan

Bring all your hopes to nought.
bawa semua harapan kamu menjadi hampa.


Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban si orang putih

No tawdry rule of kings,
bukan perintah raja2

But toil of serf and sweeper--
tetapi lelah hamba dan abdi

The tale of common things.
kisah biasa

The ports ye shall not enter,
pelabuhan2 kamu tak bisa masuk

The roads ye shall not tread,
jalan2 kamu tak boleh lalui

Go mark them with your living,
tandakan mereka dgn kehidupan kamu

And mark them with your dead.
dan tandakan mereka dgn kematian kamu.

Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban orang putih--

And reap his old reward:
dan kautlah balasan tuanya:

The blame of those ye better,
Disalahkan oleh mereka yg lebih baik dr kamu

The hate of those ye guard--
kebencian mereka yg kamu kawal--

The cry of hosts ye humour
jerit-tangis tuan2 yg kamu bertahan

(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--
(ah, perlahan2) menuju cahaya:--

"Why brought he us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"
Kenapa dia bawa kami dlm belenggu
malam Egyptian yg kami sygi


Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullah beban si orang putih

Ye dare not stoop to less--
Kamu tidak berani tunduk pada yg kurang--

Nor call too loud on Freedom
atau berteriak kuat utk kebebasan

To cloke (1) your weariness;
menyembunyi keletihan kamu;

By all ye cry or whisper,
dgn segala tangisan @ bisikan kamu,

By all ye leave or do,
dgn segala tinggalan @ perbuatan kamu,

The silent, sullen peoples
Orang yg senyap dan memberontak

Shall weigh your gods and you.
akan mempertimbangkan tuhan2 kamu dan kamu


Take up the White Man's burden--
Pikullan beban si orang putih--

Have done with childish days--
Tinggalkan hari-hari keanakan kamu

The lightly proferred laurel, (2)
persembahan yg mudah

The easy, ungrudged praise.
pujian yg senang dan ikhlas

Comes now, to search your manhood
marilah mencari kekuatan kamu

Through all the thankless years
menerusi tahun2 yg tiada kesyukuran

Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,
Dingin, tajam dgn kebijaksanaan yg dibeli mahal

The judgment of your peers!
Diadili rakan2 kamu!

[ Last edited by seribulan at 5-3-2006 02:02 PM ]

hamizao

Originally posted by seribulan at 1-3-2006 02:17 PM
"... Suppose some other culture heavily restricts the freedom of women, forcing girl-children into arranged marriages, and barring them access to education, etc. Can we say that what they're doing is wrong? It certainly conflicts with our values, but as the relativist is wont to say, "who are we to judge?" On what basis are we to say that our cultural values are objectively superior to those of other cultures?......."

The more traditional cultures are more communal. As their purpose would be more of survival, they may be pragmatic too.

Restrictions on freedom of women and forcing girls into arranged marriage and barring excess to education reflect the insecurity of the people. May also be liken to one party wishing to maintain control/power over the other....politics of the sexes. Why then would the masters not educate the slaves? The women would be so brainwashed that they would go along with what were decreed upon them.....to be married off to preserve peace, to be bound up to look pretty, to look ugly in order not to invite untoward attention from others.......The list is endless. Hell, they have been an abused lot aren't they?

Men's need for security and power would first have to change. To make this happen, they need to come in contact with other cultures that have succeeded in, say, emancipation of their women or other relevant aspects of society. I think cross culture or cultural exchanges can be helpful. It should not be just about dances.:hmm: You can't change a society unless they want to.

The above may just be touching on why certain cultures exist and an idea on how they may be changed.

[ Last edited by hamizao at 10-3-2006 01:06 AM ]

seribulan

masalahnya bila ada golongan yg menganggap 'they r superior than others'...
they want to change others...cultures and so on...sometimes it is within the
same community itself...

hamizao

Originally posted by seribulan at 14-3-2006 08:15 AM
masalahnya bila ada golongan yg menganggap 'they r superior than others'...
they want to change others...cultures and so on...sometimes it is within the
same community itself...

This is natural. Some ppl feel they are more capable to guide their societies. I am not sure about the feeling of superiority though. Even in societies of old, the village old, wisemen and so on make decisions for their ppl. In a way one should look upon culture as living.......such that one can adapt new ways to assist society to meet the future. Granted that not everyone thinks the same way, a continuous blending of culture may one day result in a new but common culture ....who knows. Until then, multiculturalism would need to be tolerated. :hatdown:

[ Last edited by hamizao at 18-3-2006 01:59 PM ]