Different and Wrong Are Not Synonyms

James Rachels’ article about cultural relativism discusses the fact that different cultures have different beliefs and customs. Just because a culture does something differently than another culture, does not make them wrong. “We have to stop condemning other societies merely because they are different.” Each culture is made up of their own beliefs and customs which is what makes each culture unique and different from the others. If every culture believed the same things and did everything the same way, then there would be no diversity in the world. Every culture is supposed to be different, but just because the cultures are different, does not make another culture wrong.

            James Rachels mentions the Eskimos and their way of life. In the Eskimo culture, it is acceptable for a man to have multiple wives and for each of those wives to have relations with other men. The Eskimo society reflects the Igbo society in the story Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In the Igbo society, the men could have multiple wives. Okonkwo demonstrated this idea by having many different wives and nobody in their culture thought anything of it. The Igbo society was accepting of that idea but our American culture would be completely opposed to it and would consider it wrong because the idea is so foreign to us and different from our beliefs. Having multiple spouses in our culture is uncommon and considered wrong to us. Although polygamy is frowned upon in the United States today, marriage besides traditional marriage is slowly becoming accepted. Gay marriage is a popular debate topic in the present day. While many people are still opposed to the idea because it is different to them and they believe it is wrong, many people are becoming more open to the idea. Some states are even going as far as passing laws allowing same sex marriage. People are now slowly realizing that just because same sex marriage is different from what they are used to, does not mean it is wrong.