Rudolf Gaiseb
Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso)’s spokesperson Dorthea Nangolo upholds the idea that Western culture, which America promotes, has done well in dispensing some harmful cultural practices in Namibia.
“It is a great thing that we are losing certain harmful cultural trends. Primarily the cultural trends of misogyny; we are getting rid of that now. Nowadays, the views of the youth on issues, particularly misogyny, are completely different and constitutional.
It’s no longer a thing that men are greater than women, setting roles for women in African society. We are moving to a point where a woman is able to set her tone, and set what role she wants to play in society without the influence of a man. But our culture as it is does not support that,” she added.
Nangolo said this in her remarks to a speech made by Brazilian congressman and youth leader Nikolas Ferreira when he recently addressed world leaders at the United Nations, headquarters about Brazil’s political situation.
In his speech, Ferreira described how the United States left-wing government has abhorrently impacted the socio-political landscape of Brazil through taking control of the presidency.
He radically pondered how Western narratives affect issues such as cultural identity and abortion, among other matters.
Ferreira generally said, “Young people no longer know what or who they are; they are carried away by any wind of doctrine, and cling to what is fashionable.”
“They tell you to dress like this, use this type of language, and finally, live like this. This is a generation most lacking in good reference that has ever existed,” he added.
“First, they destroy the sense of reality; there is no longer right or wrong, good or bad; everything is relative. Then they move to the destruction of identity; if you are nothing, then everything can be everything. Therefore, they will destroy your identity as a person. Also, beauty no longer exists; whether in fashion or music, the focus is to sell culture that delivers everything you want, except the meaning of life,” he stated.
Ferreira continued that this generation is enslaved by their own will and cannot handle pain, confrontation or being told what is wrong.
In addition, he said this generation of people is too ignorant to know how they are being used, and who is using them.
After evaluating the notion that young people have lost cultural identity, Nangolo projected the matter from a Namibian view.
On the negative side, she acknowledged the fact that young people have lost their cultural and traditional norms, and have adapted to Western culture.
“At the core of it all is your tradition, your culture, your ethnicity, your background, your history, and your people’s history that make you who you are, and unfortunately, we have lost that,” she said.
Nangolo added that interconnectedness, which was made possible by the internet and globalisation aspects, has affected cultural views, detaching young people from their grassroots, particularly cultural identity and background.
She stressed that though there is indeed a cultural shift, on the positive side, it enables young people to have an opportunity to see and reason from different perspectives.
Another key point she highlighted was that the cultural shift now enables young people to better discern between right and wrong, compared to before.
“Young people now are able to reason because they are exposed to so much, and their thinking is not boxed down to cultural narratives. We are able to think outside the box and relate with other cultural groups,” she added.
On behalf of the religious community, Bishop of the Reformed Church of Namibia Lukas Katenda expressed concern on the matter from a philosophical point of view.
“Every person has the right to pick the type of life they want to live. But then they must be able to live with the consequences of the type of life they choose. They must also understand that others too have their own lives and rights, identifying for themselves what is good or bad,” he said.
He added, “Parents have the moral obligation to instil a sense of identity in their children, depending on how they want their children to act and behave as they grow older. However, parents in today’s society do not know their rights, do not have audacity, and struggle with parental, governmental, and religious guidance.
Parents must develop a moral code of conduct in order to shape the ethical conduct of their own children, according to their expectations.”
Finally, he said that now the government has the obligation, within democratic principles, to dictate the guidelines and balance what individuals want without violating their rights. He added that the government should not violate parents’ right to choose how they want to raise their children.