Spirituality or Science??

In the scientific community there are opposite thoughts in regards to what exactly medicine is composed. The western science collective believes that medicine involves the process in which patients are alienated from their physicians. They do not believe this but I in fact believe that this alienation occurs. On the opposite, yet parallel perspective, aboriginal science or medicine promotes a holistic point of view. While they both achieve the same goal in the end, thus the parallelism, that is healing the patient, the fact remains that western science does not recognize indigenous aboriginal medicine as a branch of medicine. This reflects that western medicine somehow holds a certain degree of political power over the aboriginal communities. In Popular Culture: A User’s Guide, Susie O’Brien states “minority is defined by numbers but by relative cultural power” (200). This cultural power exhibited by western medicine is held over the aboriginal minority. Therefore, the fact remains that due to technological superiority and political power western medicine should be the accepted norm. However, the main issue in western medicine is the alienation that it has incurred over the past century. Through simply examining only the physicality of the patient, physicians do not experience the connection that aboriginals do with their line of work. In fact, healing in aboriginal communities is not a paid job. Back on topic and political power, Susie O’Brien further explains “Colonialism was not just an economic and political undertaking…It was also, importantly, a cultural project, in which these nations sought to extend throughout the world their…concept of scientific rationalism…” (217). With all aspects of colonialization in any community life often tends to follow the path of the more culturally accepted society. The fact that aboriginal communities were branded as “savage” or “heretics”, the prejudices of the settler’s became apparent and a decline in North American Indigenous healing began to decline. Through the racial depictions of aboriginal communities there was also the exploitation of aboriginal medicine. Through this exploitation western medicine found its roots. So then why does it remain a common ideal that First Nations practices of healing remain in a category of alternative medicine? This is likely due to the commercialism and prejudicial perspective of indigenous communities even though aboriginal medicine acts in unison with western philosophies on science.

A closer look at Napolean

So, the other day I popped in the movie Napolean Dynamite. As I watched through the movie I slowly began to realize that this movie is more than just the comedy it deliver’s. This movie is about an individual growing up in an old-fashioned urban environment who is struggling, alongside his friends Pedro and Deb, to establish their cultural identities within their society. Obviously the most appealing thing about this movie is the fact that Napolean, Napolean’s family, and Napolean's friends, Pedro and Deb, are drastically different from the society around them. In fact, they are so completely different from those around them that they attract one another. In order to identify with one another they act in similar ways and have similar experiences which exclude them from common social order. This of course is the centerpiece of comedy. However, the question that came to mind while I was watching the movie was, “Has normal or popular culture become embedded in our minds that when we see people struggling to identify themselves we find it funny”? The answer of course is yes. I almost felt ashamed. Obviously Napolean Dynamite is spectacularly successful. It is impossible for a culture such as ours to visualize people living outside the confines of socialization. Visualizing this concept render’s us to believe, well myself anyway, that this mode of living is weird. The reason I think it’s weird and funny is of course due to my upbringing within the social norm. I'm sure we're all weird or wacky in some ways, just not as bad as Dynamite. While I cannot comment on Napolean’s upbringing his humorous teenage existence is finally accepted towards the end of the film through his memorable dance and his display of friendship for his friend Pedro.

The Rat-Race and social inequality

Let’s take a moment to examine popular culture in the workplace. I mentioned the rat-race in my last blog. What exactly is the rat-race? Yes it is a movie with a wonderful cast, but it is also an explanation for one of society’s most repetitive tasks, life. Everyday people wake up, do the bathroom thing, eat and head off to work. Those that do not work follow some sort of other routine. It is globally accepted to have a job, make money and provide for a family. Some are more successful than others. In other words life is a giant rat-race. Rats are placed in a maze with a piece of cheese in the center of the maze and the quickest most efficient rat/mouse will get to the cheese first. What exactly am I saying? Life is like a maze with fortune and fame being the cheese.

There are many ways to get to the cheese. Sports, corporate business, invention and design are just some of the ways of achieving the American dream. Mainstream society however places many restrictions on individuals that limit their quickened advancement. Employers want efficient, speedy workers; coaches want strong and quick players just to name a couple. The workplace has become so competitive that machines in some instances are replacing many jobs. Therefore one could surgically implant a machine that allows them to enhance these characteristics and have an edge on competition. This certainly would level the playing field between men and women in sports, if for instance a woman wanted to play football in the NFL at any position.

On that note ideas of sexual orientation or being a female in a patriarchal society is a mountain for many popular cultures to climb. These notions of inequality are prevalent in patriarchal societies and are clear as glass. Most cultures attempt to create an equal opportunity for men and women but most fail in their task. I am not really at liberty to state how a woman feels concerning the way they are treated but I can observe that in the workplace, especially my own, women should be treated equally to men. I have also observed that on a daily basis women have worked doubly hard in their environment compared to some men yet those men still receive a higher benefit than the women. The issue is not the speed or strength someone has, the problem lies in the employer and how he treats his employee’s. Notice I say “his employee’s” rather than use a politically correct term that recognizes both sexes. The reason for this is that many high profile jobs are in fact run by men. I have an interesting link at the bottom of this blog, it’s a little old but mainly sheds a bit of light on the patriarchal conservative government. It is not a credited source but it might be interesting to watch. Anyway back on topic, as I stated before, neural implants, in the works by Kevin Warwick (an extremist), may shorten the gap, but still will not be the answer to social inequalities in Canada.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se7AjimwHAA