Authentic or Dead

Can authenticity actually be used to give credit to the societies? Well what about on an individual human basis? I believe that adapting to our surroundings is part of human nature; some of us embrace it gracefully while others seem to avoid it like an evil plague. An example of is miss interpretation is one I just finished hearing about on NPR, where in Mogadishu, Somalia religious officials are banning radio stations that are playing music that is too “western” such as rock and pop. Their reasoning is that this type of music just “isn’t Islamic”. Cell phones and TV’s are OK but watch out for music you listen to.

It is in my opinion that an individual will take what he or she wants from the world a files it away it the memory cabinet and chooses to remember it as they experienced it. At the threshold of information technology our inner desires become more readily available. Where once it took good going to the scene to gather information on a story we now watch for them on Face book. Access to information has, is, and will continue to spread until the people look to rely on themselves for what is true to them. Then and only then will the will the “contamination” become the norm.

Authenticity is a double edge sword sometimes you feel like nut and sometimes you don’t. As people we never want to forget the past, after all it is what shapes our future, but if we don’t try to understand “why it is” instead of throwing rocks at each other, we’ll become that dead society that Appiah talks about. What makes us different is the most beautiful characteristic we all posses and wanting to learn about them and understand them is what makes us human.