Vantage Point: The Relationship Between Perspectives

Language is the most influential device of power that man has created. It is the mechanism which provides daily life in a social world never ending change, discussion, and view point. The varying communities and entities that form the social and nonsocial aspects of life contain vast traits of conflicting views and opinions with even more ways to both express and perceive such objects. The community is shaped upon the environment from which it thrives and is named by the individuals that reside within it. Furthermore the individuals themselves become branded by their community and molded by the environment that envelopes both.

Across the globe communities contrast one another in many different aspects. From the language they speak to the values they believe in, communities retain the identities which separate them from other communities. What is acceptable in one community may be cause for murder in another. The differences between communities are what give them their character, name, and general outlook. These traits, however, are not seen in the same way by the presiding community and those observing it. To the community itself, they will see themselves as the way they want to be seen. Their actions, their beliefs, and their values are expressed in a way that is meant to bleed through the fabric of social life and onto other communities for taste and sampling. However the fact remains that perceptions among different groups are as different and varying as the individuals themselves. This means that the signals that one community puts out may be “incorrectly” received by another. The issue here is not one community or another; it is the fact that there is no such thing as incorrect reception. What is important—yet hugely ignored—is the concept of perception. This concept simply means that one object will be seen from different angles by different individuals and therefore will be perceived differently by each and every individual observing that object.

The key factor that determines an individual’s (and a community’s) vantage point is environment. Environment is a broad concept with many different identities, making it the most influential element of character. The form of environment ranges from the physical environment—geographic location—to social environment with many ecosystems in between. Often physical environment is viewed with less importance as a factor of social influence. However the physical landscape of a community greatly effects the development and character of the community. Harsh climates typically render tight nit communities with strong social ties as a means of reliance and support during starving times while simpler climates may allow individuals in a community to stray and become distanced from other members. The point here is that physical geography cannot be overlooked when examining the social behaviors and traits of a given community. Physical environment is the natural source from which these traits are first drawn, paving the way for future development and eventual evolution.

Social environment plays a key role on the growth of a community that takes it from its infancy and slowly nurtures it on into maturity. As the physical environment gave the community its rough shape, the varying forms of social environment will expertly craft and improve upon this. Social environment is much more complex and carries far more identities than that of the physical environment. In a social world, there are two main categories of environments: private and public. However unlike physical environment, these forms of social order are not retained by geographic location yet are typically formed in a distinguishing place of origin. For example, private life is originally formed at home among close family. Here a child learns the beliefs, values, and language of the family that they are apart of. Yet when the family enters a public setting, the private entities are still enforced. Family members will still speak among themselves as they would at home, they will retain and express their values, and they will carry themselves as a single family unit. It is not until the individuals encounter the social world as individuals that they become exposed and shaped by the public environment.

The public environment is where the mixing of individuals and communities occur. Individuals bring their community’s beliefs, their family’s teachings, and their personal feelings into the public atmosphere. As more and more individuals are exposed to one another, the characters of multiple communities become enveloped in the public eye and are scrutinized and studied. It is here that entirely new communities are formed. Individuals with favoring perceptions and similar languages will connect and attract other individuals with similar views as well. At the same time, however, communities and individuals with varying viewpoints will expose each others differences. Human nature compels individuals to impose their view on others in a form of persuasion aimed at converting the view of the other into the correct view of the individual. The same occurs on a community wide scale; one community will attempt to change another community into a more acceptable object of society.

Conflicting communities never win over each other. It is simply impossible for one community to socially take control of another. However it is the nature of a group to impose upon that of another with opposite or conflicting perceptions. In the extreme case, one group will physically impose their will by means of force. Yet even when a group has been conquered by another, the fallen community will retain its characteristics with a more pronounced standing. This is the beauty—and the demise—of the social world. One’s perceptions in life may never be taken away, replaced, or stolen. They are owned in the eye of the beholder. Till death arrives and the individual draws his last breath he will still maintain his unique perception of life; right up to his last words, and more importantly, his last view of the world.