Kinship - by K. Flanagan

I think everybody who has posted on this assignment has taken the words out of my mouth: that the phrase “blood is thicker than water” implies that family ties mean so much more personally than any other relationships. Regardless of the kind of culture one studies, it’s obvious that there is some group of immediate family that is significantly more important than others. It emphasizes our natural human need to be surrounded by people who take care of us, who love us, and provide some sort of sanctuary and base for us to fall back on when things go wrong. There is very strong connection between a child and his/her parents, no matter what culture or society they live in… and that’s because they are of the same blood and kin.

In the article about Iraq marriages between cousins, it says “In a modern state, a citizen’s allegiance is to the state. But theirs is to their clan and tribe… They don’t see individuals working for the common good. Their world is divided into two groups: kin and strangers.” This quote, I believe, is most important because it explains why some cultures are so vastly different from ours. Of course, marriages between cousins are not the MAIN reasons why Iraqi and American societies are different; it’s because their culture emphasizes so much on the importance of family ties that our culture has a difficult time understanding it. Our view of family, the interaction of the parents in the child’s life, how much they are involved after the child leaves the home, and how the child views his connection with his/her parents… all these aspects are completely opposite compared to an Iraqi family clan. Most Americans might actually lean towards the flipside of the phrase “blood is thicker than water”. A greater percent of American teens and young adults have a more personal inclination to follow their peers (outside the family) and friends than turn to the immediate family for guidance. Still, one can’t erase or ignore the natural feeling of “connection” between those who share the same blood and family tree.