Frequently we see un-civilised acts and behaviour being tolerated, excused and even accepted on grounds of culture, without questioning its social and moral integrity. The term ‘culture’ is broadly defined as ‘the traditions and characteristics of a people’, needless to say: ‘anything goes’.
You can put anything on a sandwich or a pizza, from the savoury delicious to the outright revolting. The same is true for culture, it spans from the highly civilised and sophisticated to low down savagery. Deprivation of liberty, domestic violence, forced marriages and rape are part of some cultures, so are honour killings, suicide and corruption. Some gangs cultivate bullying, vandalism and battery with pride, yet judges often acquit offenders or pass lenient sentences out of cultural reasons. One has to question their credibility.
High culture combines the arts, ethics, education and social infrastructure under the umbrella of civilisation and it only has value within the concept of moral law.