As an environmental science major, I find myself often concerned with the concept of societal norms and how these can be altered and utilized to create a more sustainable universal lifestyle. Therefore, I found a particular interest in our class discussion regarding Amish culture, as their “normal” did not overlap with my own. Specifically looking at the use of technology, I found it fascinating to hear that their choice to minimize their use and exposure to technology is rooted in their efforts to maintain the fabric of their interpersonal relationships. This is an interesting contrast to my own culture and accepted norm as I view technologies like social media, telephones, and modes of fast transportation to be the main components of the fabric of my relationships. That’s how I stay in contact with my friends and family, visit those who live far away, and still maintain my normal daily life.
The further we discussed the Amish’s minimal-technology beliefs, the more I questioned my own accepted norm. Yes, my social media and ability to call anyone I need to keeps me in fairly immediate contact with anyone in my life, however I have to pause the current moment I am in to do so. Conversations are interrupted by phone calls, meals with friends are distracted by twitter, and the ability to travel anywhere makes it difficult to maintain a steady community. Although imperfect, this is the norm that my society has established, and it doesn’t take much effort for it to become widely accepted.
Most of the time, I find myself adopting norms just because other people around me are doing so. Trends in fashion, technology, and lifestyle constantly flux, ebb, and flow as people within societies choose to accept specific norms together as a whole. I couldn’t help but notice this throughout the entire first chapter of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, as Hank Morgan trespassed into a community much different than his own, with entirely different norms. He gaped at these people as they gaped back at him, since both believed the other to be out of line with their respective appearances. Morgan’s modern wardrobe was startlingly different to those of the garishly old fashioned members of King Arthur’s Court, meanwhile these people found child nudity perfectly typical in daily life.
Morgan has a difficult time respecting these people as he is so distracted by how they choose to live. Being from the future, Morgan is clearly intellectually superior, but he is astounded by how thoughtless these people are. The focus in this society is clearly on brawns, as they tend to challenge each other to unprompted physical fights just for the sake of it, causing Morgan to comment that “brains were not needed in a society like that” (22). These people practice traditions that seem ridiculous and avoidable to an outsider, but are widely accepted by those within the culture and are followed without hesitance. The cycle of prisoner and imprisoner is inevitable to these people, so when it is someone’s turn to be enslaved, “maimed, hacked, carved…” they were expecting this reality and therefore endure it without complaint (20). The cycle is easily breakable, but remains intact as an accepted standard.
The people of this foreign culture of King Arthur’s Court display an exaggerated complacency that I find myself guilty of today. I know that I don’t need specific technologies to maintain the fabric of my relationships, in fact it may grow stronger without certain ones, but I practice regular use of these same technologies anyway.