Integration Of The Deaf And Military Cultures example essay topic

Culture is a word that has no standard definition. If you were to ask ten people you would probably get ten different answers. My definition starts with the word shared. A culture shares common behaviors, customs, and accepted norms. It is further defined from traditions and memories passed on through generations. A culture can be influenced by the environmental surroundings such as desert or mountains.

Culture is the shared attitude and behavior that describe the workings of a group or slice of society. It is evident in paintings, music, and customs that are portrayed on walls, in music halls, and in ceremonies. After traveling around the world some, I believe that the cultural differences evident in each country define us as human beings. The deaf and the military are cultures that exist within other cultures as a part of society. Each of these cultures has several similarities that enable them to exist as a part of society. For instance, both have their own language.

The deaf use sign language, specifically American Sign Language (ASL), to communicate. By using their hands to "speak" they can communicate effectively. However, the person they are speaking with must be able to understand sign language. Sign language can be specific to a community and is not the same in each country. Just as there are different languages for each country, so is there a different sign language.

Sign language is not a gestural language only. It relies on body language, such as facial movements, and body positioning to complete the communication process. ASL makes use of the immediate space around the signer to portray or describe places and persons that are not present. The military also uses a language that is unique to its culture and that requires both parties to understand. It is a language that is primarily based on acronyms, slang, and jargon that only a military person can understand. Militaries around the world speak different languages just as signers do from different countries.

The military even has its own form of sign language that is used when silence is necessary. Although rudimentary by ASL standards, the use of a weapon or hand gestures are clearly understood in the military culture. Body language is important in the way we communicate also. The military has several standard "stances" such as saluting or standing at ease. Each of these stances communicates something completely different and would only be understood in a military culture. Language for both the deaf and military are unique to each culture and require a common understanding by both speaker and receiver in order to effectively communicate.

Another way in which deaf and military cultures are similar is in the use of specialized equipment or aids that enable us to perform as a part of society. In 1990 the Food and Drug Administration approved a proposal to market a "bionic ear". The Cochlear implant is surgically implanted into the skull and enables the wearer to "hear" (Dilks, Hansen, and Parfitt, 263). This allows the deaf person to communicate with members of society that he or she would otherwise never have been able to talk with.

These devices have been integrated very well into society and their use is now widely accepted. The deaf use other specialized equipment as their eyes in place of their ears to do things that most people take for granted, like talking on a phone. The use of a teletypewriter (TTY) equipped device enables a deaf person to communicate on a specially designed digital phone. The newer devices allow for a deaf person to "screen" their calls for persons who do not have a TTY equipped device and then route them to a voice relay (DEAFWORKS). Each of these items is designed to make the life of a deaf person easier to incorporate into the norms of society.

The military also uses specialized equipment which has subsequently been incorporated into society. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a device that uses satellites in order to get precision location. Helicopters and rescue vessels are equipped with GPS to enable them to find and render aid to victims more rapidly. Although these devices are widely used by the public now, 10 years ago only the military was familiar with their use. Another piece of specialized equipment that the military uses is our uniforms.

The uniforms are designed for use in combat with reinforced knees, elbows and large cargo pockets. They also are infrared signature reducing which makes it much harder to detect us at night. The use of specialized equipment is common to both the deaf and the military cultures. Their use allows us to function as a part of society, or as a protector of that society. The deaf and the military share another similarity in their acceptance by society. The life and work of Helen Keller can be seen as the beginning of the push towards self-awareness and community building for disabled people, at least in the twentieth century (Dilks, Hansen, and Parfitt, 209).

Throughout history deaf persons have been isolated and sometimes even persecuted in society. For instance, in the Holocaust, 1500 deaf people were killed, while many thousands more were forcibly sterilized (Berke, Deafness webpage). Before Helen Keller deaf people were often not accepted in society and forced to live on the fringes in fear and in hiding. Today, deaf people are seen as having a disability, but one that can be overcome by both the hearing and the hearing impaired. Society has accepted the deaf, and no longer views them as non-contributors. Corporations even go so far as to seek these individuals out for employment in order to not only meet government guidelines on disabled person's employment quotas, but to access a market that was largely untouched.

The deaf have been accepted and integrated into society, while maintaining a separate culture. Similarly, the military has had its difficulties with societal acceptance also. Although never having to endure persecution like the Holocaust, after Vietnam soldiers were generally not accepted in society. Soldiers returning from Vietnam were spit on and refused work because of their service. Soldiers today do not have to endure any of that.

Corporations seek to employ retiring and separating soldiers because of specified training or advanced management capabilities. Society has accepted that soldiers can contribute valuable skills that are not available from the civilian workforce. Both deaf and the military have gained acceptance into society in the same way, through time and understanding. This acceptance has enhanced and further advanced society as a whole and both cultures. Although completely different by definition, the deaf and military cultures are similar in many aspects.

It is the similarities and what they bring into society that has made them accepted. Integration of the deaf and military cultures has made our society stronger and more diverse enabling us to expand our views of this small world on which we live. Stephen Dilks, Regina Hansen, Matthew Parfitt, Cultural Conversations, The Presence of the Past, Bedford / St. Martins 2001 Nakamura, Karen, Deaf Resource Library web DEAFWORKS Website web Berke, Jaime, Deaf People and the Holocaust, web.