Socio-autobiography Assignment

Socio-autobiography Assignment

            Human beings are social beings who coexist interdependently and share in various aspects of their lives. Living together in communities or any other social setting, human behavior has been identified to be primarily affected by the surrounding environment in which one is brought up (Hill, 2019).  Different communities uphold diverse cultural values, and this leads to the diversity in culture that is observed across the world. Sociocultural structures that have been formed over years of evolution are the vital governing factors that govern how a given society functions. Children are born and brought up concerning these sociocultural structures are, therefore, a product of the social regime.

 It is, therefore, possible to conclude that an individual is a product of the society in which they are born and brought up. Although an individual may travel and get to interact with other people from different backgrounds and social orientations, the underlying point remains that there are specific inherent values that are instilled in this individual that, despite whatever kind of social interactions they may experience, some of these values may never change.

I was born and raised in Kentucky at a time when social integration and coexistence were still prevalent before the full onset of modernization set in, and most of the cultural values got lost. In the preceding years of the decade, sociocultural values such as communal integration, compassion as well as teamwork and team building activities were primarily valued in the society. This is because the community was still in touch with its core functions that have been passed on over time. However, with the onset of the monetary and economic society, these values have continued to change, and the society members are becoming more eccentric and individualistic, putting personal needs before those of the more prominent public. Growing up in Kentucky back in the day, modernization had not taken over most of the social aspects, and I can, therefore, attest to the fact that I was brought up in a society that upheld social values more and always took concentrated efforts towards ensuring that a reliable future generation was raised.

Being raised in a religious family, I got exposed to the spiritual ways at a tender age. Before I became fully self-aware, I believed in most of the religious forms and everything else that religion stands for. Although most of the teachings that were taught in the church were all aimed at enhancing better social integration as well as harmonic co-existence among the societal members. The church also played a valuable role in virtues installation among the young members of the congregation. However, as I continued to grow and increase my knowledge and understanding of the practical ways of the society, I started to question religion and what it stands for as most of the teachings did not hold in the real-world setting.

Based on the knowledge that I have gained in the course of my educational journey, I have come to question the eligibility of the religious institutions and therefore decided to hold my stand as an atheist where I don’t believe in the existence of a higher power o authority. I think that society needs law and order to function. How do you do a society act as it is expected? This is the next question.  To facilitate this, it is possible that early civilizations came up with the idea of religion, where people would bet punished for their transgressions in the afterlife. As a result, the members of the society are expected to behave as stipulated in the religious doctrines to avoid eternal condemnation.

As a san rational person, this prompted me to question the workability of the two systems i.e., religion and society. In this light, it is possible to conclude that the members of the community act right not because they want to but because they are afraid of the consequences that may occur them if they fail to do what is outlined in the religious laws.  What could we make of such a member of society? Is a person who makes the right decision because they are being watched genuinely righteous, or are they just victims of circumstances.  In this light, vvcam to the conclusion that religion is a governing social tool that is only instilled to maintain law and order and ensure that the members of the society act following the stipulated doctrines.

As a believer in formal education, I believe that education is a fundamental aspect of the society that helps to keep the organization moving forward concerning science and technological innovations. Education is also an eye-opener that allows the learners to better understand themselves as a person and what they truly believe in as well as what they would like to do with their lives.  I, therefore, take to it that other social structures that are not in line with the goals of formal education, such as religion should not be taught in school. I believe that society should provide the learners with an opportunity to decide for themselves what it is that they believe in rather than force religion onto the learners.  Different people have different world view perspectives, and those who choose to follow either path should be allowed to and learn through their own experiences.

Another socio-cultural observation that I have made in my journey in life is the fact that despite the society generalizing the developmental journey as a gradual process that takes place following a correct path, it is not the case. Some young people are forced to take up specific roles and responsibilities at a young age while others wait until later in life when they undertake this role.  This has been my case given that I am 26 years old, and I work as the Maintenance Manager and have to pretend to be more “mature” than I am. This is because other employees working under me look up to me for instructions on the expected course of action to take. This is probably the same case for even younger individuals who have been forced to take up similar social responsibilities irrespective of their developmental stage in life.  I can, therefore, term to my social integration as a learning exercise through which I have come to learn a lot about myself and the society at large and how it functions. There is a specific aspect in which the community is wrong and needs to work on correcting these flaws and shortcomings to make communal coexistence more harmonic and bearable. On the other hand, it is also essential to observe that there are certain aspects in which the society is right and should capitalize on further improvement of this social aspects to make them better versions than they are currently to come up with a better integrated and close-knit society (Hill, 2019).

 

References

Hill, M. R. (2019). What It Means To Be a Humanist Sociologist: A Socioautobiographical Perspective.