Tribal wisdom
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In his article titled Tribal wisdom, is it too late for us to reclaim the benefits of tribal living? David Maybury-Lewis (1992) argues that we have paid too high of a price for modernization and industrialization. It is my opinion that Maybury-Lewis was looking at the tribal ways through "rose colored glasses," while looking at our modern society through the eyes of one who has lived in the jungles too long.
I agree that we have had to pay a price for our modernization and industrialization, but I surmise that the benefits have far out weighed the cost. Maybury-Lewis (1992) wants us to believe "(the) heart of the difference between the modern world and the traditional one is that in the traditional societies people are a valuable resource and the interrelations between them are carefully tended; in modern society things are the valuables and people are all too often treated as disposable." (Pp68-79) I do not think he could be much farther from the truth. Maybury-Lewis is saying that we have become such a self-centered society that materialistic things are more valued than people. He goes on to say we are teaching our children to be competative and not teaching them the importance of kindness, generosity, patience, tolerance, cooperation, and compassion. My question is "How can anyone who has raised a child go along with this nonsense?" My children and children that I meet have a sense of self, meaning they know they are special as an individual, but they also have a sense of moral obligation to others...