American Culture Interview

SECTION A The world is quickly moving, with modifications in almost every area of life which is mainly due to the development of better technology that allows for multiple improvements in nearly every sector of life; from home, even to the commercial setting. This paper seeks to present the dynamics in the socialization process to appreciate the changes that take place in cultural practices, values, and norms over time.
The interview conducted had an interviewee, seventy years of age and Kenyan nationality. The interviewee was last born male, with three brothers and two sisters living in a farm. The family of the old man was humble, with limited farm space, just enough to meet the basic food requirements. The old man confirmed that he was
a Christian. Also, the man narrated his experience during childhood in the rural setting around his home. Growing up as a last-born son was not the easiest for him. There were many disadvantages which included an excessive amount of work in the absence of siblings.
The interviewee noted that the discipline enforced by the parents was not through training alone, but the cane was consistently used as a tool for driving out all foolishness. Moreover, there was a rule that a failure to follow the explicit commands of the father and mother was punishable. Fear was the motivation to obedience, which could not be withheld. The father's role was to eke out a living throughout the day and returning in the evening to receive a report of the situation at home while he was away. The respondent's mother was in charge of following up on the educational progress of the family, making sure that the respondent and his siblings always strove to get the best grades that would guarantee a prosperous future.
Furthermore, concerning household duties, everyone had a part to play in the house, creating a system where everyone had an area that was a specialization, though this did not mean that the person could not perform the duty of another in an emergency or absence of an individual.
The interviewee's family owned little, nothing that could make them stand out in the community as a force to reckon. There was always a shortage, and there were seasons when the father would send them out to toil hard in the farm to ensure a fruitful harvest in the future. The position of being a last-born son made the other siblings despise him for being the beloved of the family. Schooling was a problem, but eventually, he was able to finish his high school education successfully after which he resorted to business to raise funds for higher level education. The conversion to Christianity was a choice he made later in life after finishing his higher level of education, guaranteeing him a job which paid well.
The experience the respondent had during childhood is markedly different from the experience currently where there is a lot of changes in the norms and values of the community. For example, it was an unsaid rule that during all meals every member of the family had to be present at the table for people to eat together. Today, there is a great change in the household setting where people cook and serve food at the convenience of each member of the household. The mealtime has lost its original power to bind the hearts and purposes of family members and act as a warm fellowship. Instead, there is a replacement for the role of the family mealtime with intimate time with personal accessories such as mobile phones and personal computers.
The biggest difference between the respondent’s generation and the current one is in the manner of correction of children. It has become a common practice not to chasten children with the rod of instruction. According to the respondent, childhood life has become much easier since the children learn to obey out of love and not out of coercion.
The interview, conducted via a video chat on Skype lasting two hours was successful. After a brief introduction stating the objective of the study, a clarification of the ethical considerations and an exchange of greetings, the interview began. The respondent exemplified great cooperation, always seeking clarification about the required length of the responses and the focus of questions that seemed open-ended. The most interesting part was the description of the beliefs and norms of his culture.
SECTION B
The respondent gave elaborate information about his cultural background. In his community, certain norms are esteemed and are considered part of the essential cultural aspects. For example, elders are given respect and greeted whenever you meet them in a respectful fashion. Also, he stated that there was an evening story by the grandfather or the father every night before the children retire to bed.
Moreover, the values to be upheld include the maintenance of morality by keeping free from improper sexual behavior before marriage. The purity of a lady before marriage was highly valued and the whole community strove to maintain a state of purity lest the land is cursed. Also, integrity was an essential part of the culture. It was not uncommon to sleep with the door unbolted and wake up to find everything just the way you left it at night.
Also, there were very clear belief systems as reported by the respondent. It was a belief that the dead required respect leading to the conclusion that they deserved a proper send-off lest their spirits should come back to perplex and trouble those who failed to carry out their role. It was also a belief that whenever someone became ill or experienced terrible calamities in a mysterious manner, there were evil spirits involved and the family had to pay a visit to the renowned witchdoctors of the area to remove the curse from the family and restore health and peace in that home.
Some of the cultural practices that took center stage in the interview were circumcision and wedding ceremonies.
Circumcision was an integral part of the stages of life, where there was a transitioning from boyhood to manhood. The ceremony involved a lot of people in the community, those who would attend and give moral support to the candidates scheduled and prepared for the ceremony.
The essence of the practice was to inculcate courage and endurance in preparation for joining the rank of the men who were the defenders of the community and providers for the family. The wedding ceremonies were full of pomp and color with the women doing a lot to maintain the exuberance of the occasion. The lady’s parents were most active in planning and coordination of the event which was highly esteemed by the community, as a beautiful and solemn union.
Moreover, some of the artifacts of cultural importance mentioned were bangles, necklaces, mats and pots made from the locally available material. There was a lot of symbols such as the black color being a symbol of patriotism to the land, the red color representing the blood of the people that ties them
together
SECTION C In conclusion, the changes that take place from one generation to another are part of the necessary socialization process.
The elements of culture such as values, beliefs, practices, symbols and artifacts are not static but are dynamic. Every generation presents a new, refined version of the original continually transforming society into conformity with the prevailing circumstances that dictate the cultural elements to retain and what needs to be shed off. An individual aligns his/her life to conform to the values, and social systems in a community mediate by socialization agents; an important role of
socialization.