How my idea of culture compares to Long's

I would say overall that I agree with Long's general idea of culture. In my opinion, Long perfectly described how culture as metaphorical. It would be incorrect to set out a perfect, rigid definition of culture, or anything for that matter; however, looking at culture as a metaphor allows us to narrow down a large sum of information into a smaller, though not too specific, idea that most of us can agree on. I also agree on how culture in contexts affects people, like the cultivation comparison. Culture does cultivate people, whether they want to or not. Religion, culture, and beliefs all exist in anyone's preconceptions in varying amounts. For example, certain people may take their culture loosely and not adhere to specific community standards that a person of said culture may exhibit but rather pick and choose and make culture something out of convenience. A way to get in and out of situations, to avoid conflict or to start it. This reading, along with the others we have read so far for this class, changed how I define things. Nothing is certain, not religion, not culture, not love nor hate. But granted a period of time, a person can be cultivated by their culture if they are placed in that context regardless of whether they want to or not. - Akshay