Blog Post #5

The first video that I watched was a Ted Talk with Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey. She discusses the drastic differences of the viewpoints between the elders and people now. The elders that she discusses are happy with what they have, and are not in any hurry to get anywhere or get things done. Whereas people now are always rushed to get somewhere or get something done by a deadline. This is interesting to think about because we often do not stop and think about how differently we see the world compared to others. We are also always concerned about getting the hot new thing, whether it is a game, a clothing trend, a car, a new phone, etc. when what we currently have works just as well. Where do those old things go that have been replaced? Often the trash. We want to get it out of our lives and move on with the next big thing so quickly that we don’t think about where our old stuff ends up, and this is partially why we are killing our planet. We don’t think about the consequences of our actions.

Climate change is a threat to human rights. When Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey was talking, she discussed how the elders view the earth versus how other people view the earth, like discussed above. Western cultures are causing climate change way more than indigenous tribes and other cultures besides in the west. But these actions are affecting everyone, not just western cultures. Because of our relatively relaxed freedoms now that are ruining the earth, people in the future are going to have less freedoms and less human rights, because of lack of clean water and air, and availability for food. These are basic human rights, but climate change Is going to majorly affect these issues in the future.

The speaker in the second Ted Talk discusses endangered cultures, and how when an elder of some cultures dies, they often take with them the last bit of a language or a culture that has since changed. The elders in a culture are often the last to know about information because they aren’t teaching it to the next generation. People are becoming more interested in taking part in western culture that they forget about other cultures. The speaker also discusses the loss of languages over time and how quickly languages can become extinct.

I agree with the speaker, and that it is important to preserve these cultures because they often have a different way of viewing life and the world than our western society. I think that if we learned about these other cultures, we would be more open minded about things. We should be able to listen to what people have to say, even if we may not agree with them, because it broadens our knowledge.

After doing some research on endangered cultures in Honduras, I did not find any that were in immediate danger of extinction, but I did find many cultures with very low population numbers. One websitedescribes some indigenous cultures in Honduras, and their legal issues with the Honduran government. I found an indigenous tribe named Pech with 3,848 people, and Tawahka with 2,463 people. It is possible that within the next century, one or both of these cultures may be extinct or close to being extinct. The website goes on to discuss how these cultures, and others, gained attention from the Honduran government to receive rights and territory for their people, along with education and other services.

Eurocentrism, in the words of Farish Noor in Dealing with Human Rights, “…denotes the emerging perception within the European cultural, historical experience of European identity as good and all other forms as less good or less advanced”. Western societies tend to have an ethnocentric view on life, and it can become extremely toxic to think in this way. It is important to stop thinking about ourselves only, and consider the fact that there are way more people out there that have different cultures, views, ideas, and ways of life that are different from western culture. We have started thinking that there is a right and wrong way to view something, but in reality, this is not true. Many people can have different views on one thing, and they can all be right at the same time.