Culture Defined

I took a course that offered a model of culture that I’ve latched onto. I am a visual thinker and models help me to make sense of things and to move forward my thinking on a subject. I’ve been trying to write about a number of topics for a couple of years and now with the context of a model on culture I can. Those who have worked with me will know that I will take an idea and take it to the next step, so I’ve taken the model of culture offered during the course and modified it for my own purposes. I don’t know who to credit with the original model but know that I am not trying to steal your idea without recognition merely I am using your idea to contextualize my message.
As with anything I discuss in the context of this blog language and context is critically important. My thinking may appear erratic and undisciplined, I am sharing this model, having this discussion to show you that I have thought about things before I’ve written about them, spouted off so to speak. In providing language and context we can walk through some more challenging, interesting topics having common language and thought context to process them and discuss them.
I’ve created a graphic describing visually Culture, lets walk the wheel and formalize the definition of Culture. These are the rough categories of stuff that must exist for a distinct Culture to exist, here is a rough paraphrase of a definition of Culture:
 
Governance
The ability to make decisions to protect and define the Culture, determine its direction and what is tolerated or not tolerated.

Language
Every Culture has language even if it shares a root language there are distinct differences based on that cultures needs to express itself and its needs. Language is extremely powerful, wants and needs and ideas are expressed in language. Issues are identified and resolved in language. If you don’t have the language to describe something then how can you learn about it and make decisions about it.
Education
There has to be a way to pass along knowledge to further the culture. Pass along traditions, stories, experiences that define the culture and further the cultures identity and viability.
Justice
Culture must have a mechanism for protect what is right and wrong. Each Culture will define how justice is to be served, healing, retribution or other contextualizing the impact on the culture in punishment to protect the culture or learning to expand the culture.
Child Rearing
Cultures have to a have an accepted way to rear children, either the direction marketing defined family of today, mother – father – children, or other variants: mother – child, father – child, community – children.
Medications
Culture like any living organism needs to thrive and survive. Each culture is shaped by injury, decease, disability and death, medications are necessary to attempt to bring members of a culture back to functioning within the Cultural norms.
Spirituality
Knowledge and Education cannot answer all questions for every member of a Culture. A Culture has to have a means to explain the unexplainable, to give language and context and ideas to a concept that cannot be described in the current state off a Cultures reason. Spirituality explains the concepts of “life” and “death” to the members of a Culture.
Technology
Every Culture has to have “stuff” to support trade, resources so the Culture can survive. Ensuring Food, Shelter, Occupation, Education to support a Cultures existence and further its growth and development.
Life Expectation
Viability, survival, expansion is totally dependent on beings practicing and teaching, and sadly protecting the Culture. If a Culture cannot provide a context for individuals to live and die in dignity and thrive in life, the Culture will die. Either people will abandon the practices of the culture or the culture will loose pertinence and wither and die.