649 sats \ 10 replies \ @kepford 14 Feb \ on: Why do we all have lawns? culture
I remember watching an Adam Curtis documentary (if you haven't every seen his work check it out) about the history of Islamic terrorism. I might get some of the details wrong but basically there was this Egyptian guy who came the U.S. in the 50s-60s and he was appalled by our culture. He had many beefs but the one that really surprised me was with lawns. I have never thought about lawns the same since. It was the essence of decadence to him. That people had so much wealth that the could afford to spend so much time, money, and care on grass. That they were so obsessed with appearances. He found it revolting. I'll try to find the documentary because it is one of his best ones (Adam Curtis)
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It was in this one, The Power of Nightmares. Seriously one of the better series. I do not believe Curtis's documentaries ever air in the U.S. but they should. I appreciate his perspective.
The guy I was thinking of was Sayyid Qutb and I believe he is discussed in the first episode " Baby It’s Cold Outside". You can send me some sats after you watch his stuff ;)
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i guess it depends on what types of plants are in a garden, but i’d imagine the time commitment to maintain a garden would be roughly the same as a lawn, no?
still necessary to do all the watering and weeding, and while gardens don’t need regular cuts, they do need to be harvested.
I appreciate the sentiment of seeing lawns in a new way. But, the arrogance of seeing something different culturally and criticizing it as a kind of immoral decadence seems silly. why do we do it? because we want to and we can. why don’t other cultures do it? because they don’t want to and/or they can’t.
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Oh I agree with you. It is very arrogant. Just as the U.S. idea of they hate us for our freedom is arrogant. Nah, they hated how the U.S. culture was invading their culture and our military was invading their lands. That's what they hated.
It is fascinating to see the direct opposition in cultures though. I just found the perspective fascinating. We so seldom get alternative views on things we do not even notice. Many, maybe most Americans seem to have no desire to truly understand why other cultures view us the way they do. Who is right is a totally different thing. That said, I do value the American attitude of "I don't care what you think".
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hearing these sort of new perspective is always interesting. It's the analogy of two fish swimming past each other, and the older fish says "how's the water?", and the younger fish says, "what's water?"
We are all fish in water, and when someone points out that you are in water it's a good kind of jarring.