Modular Culture
I read a post on monoculturalism once upon a time. Naturally I forgot to mark it and can’t remember where I found it, so I’m cheating someone out of a link. I found it an intriguing term since I had never heard it before. The link referred to an increasing rejection of multiculturalism, something that all good Americans hate. It reminded me of a concept of mine that I’ve intended to post about for a long time, modular culture.I not sure we’ve ever had a true monoculture, and if we ever did we definitely don’t have one now, and it’s unlikely to ever return. I have for years believed that American Culture is not one monolithic whole, that in fact it is compartmentalized into a hierarchy of “modules”. I DO believe that there is a core culture that every American needs to understand and be able to function in. Past that, however, there are so many different flavors of American life that one could never know them all.
If I had been motivated enough I might have made this my life’s work and published brilliant research papers on the topic, but I’ve had bigger fish to fry. The gist of my theory is that past the core culture there can be any number of sub-modules attached to it, and others attached to those. As long as those subordinate modules conform to the values outlined in the higher order modules we’ll all be OK. For instance, your Satanic Cult module won’t fly if you do human sacrifices. That would be a gross violation of American core culture. An extreme example, no doubt, but it does make my point.
If a certain module isn’t for you, another will be. The “vampire chic” and team sports modules absolutely baffle me. My renaissance faire and old muscle car modules might baffle you. The important thing is that these harm no one and can co-exist. Certain groups that have been getting a lot of attention lately believe that shouldn’t be allowed to drink, eat bacon, or let women wear bikinis (by itself proof of their insanity). However, they are allowed to kill all the people they want. Another gross violation of American core culture. If you can’t wrap your head around the idea of not killing people who disagree with you then you shouldn’t be allowed to come here. If you’re already here, get the hell out. Have a nice day.

