Prompt 5: May 1, 2021
What is America?
It’s a loaded question–obviously. Anyone with an agenda can justify their political values by stuffing rhetoric into that answer; no matter the validity of their ideas. It is a useful ploy when used for unity, progress, or goodness, but it can be just as persuasive to lull the public into blind support of concerted trespasses. It is a tricky question however, because it is generally leveraged toward her acclaim, or at least toward the prospects of becoming a “better” nation. Seldom would a latent observation of the cultural patterns of her subjects be recited as an answer to that question.
My impression is that America is the place that people go to trade their children’s heritage for “success”. I may be wrong, but the pattern of losing heritage over a few short generations is blatantly apparent when you witness children who can’t talk to their grandparents. This great republic has had such a powerfully positive impact on the rest of the world that our marketing material has got us caught up in a sort of a race against ourselves. Why is it that success is so integral to the American Dream?
Multiculturalism is the phenomenon of cohabitation of several distinct cultures within a society. With cultures come ideas, customs, values, and peoples. Historically, mixing cultures has been tricky, to say the least. I would like to explore, through this prompt, how peace is kept across cultural nuance.
Revelation speaks of the great assembly gathered together– every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Rev. 7). This scene shows the diversity of people, but the unification of worship. Christianity is a truth claim. Thus the values integral to it are moral assertions rather than cultural practices. I had a professor tell me, in a personal conversation of morality, that you have to continually update your operating systems. I liked the analogy, but as he was referring to keeping up with the “wisdom” of the age, I found it misleading. A witty retort might have been: Ah, yes professor, but we ought to protect our operating systems against malware. I suppose that’s where Ode To Culture comes in.
What is it that our cultures worship? What is it that makes them distinct? How, in a place like ours, can professionalism yield to custom? How can we honor our parents by maintaining our heritage? What prejudice is acceptable in maintaining preference? How can we love, serve, and share the Gospel with our foreign neighbors?
The thread is open. Create boldly, and may the Spirit guide us all.