Let me say first that there are many very important things going on in the news that are not on this blog. I watch the news all the time, however, this blog is not dedicated to commenting on the most important things going on in the news, actually. It is simply a no-stress release valve for me, on which I sometimes say things connected to what’s on the news.
For example:
shooting of Congresswoman Gifford & murder of 6 other people,
how we treat the mentally disturbed such as Jared Loughner and the impossibility of committing people such as him today,
the complete breakdown in Egypt and yet the ability of Mubarak to retain his power,
the surging of populations against their various Middle Eastern governments & the ability of MOST of those govts. to retain their power,
there is a lot going on.
However, tonight I want to write something about culture. What is culture? It has been described as all those things you feel are important enough to pass on to the next generation. So we have things like traditions, rituals, family history, customs, language, holidays, religious beliefs, and beliefs about humanity & morality –those things we base our laws upon, such as principles like freedom, equality and democracy. All those things are cultural.
So this weekend, my husband was on a committee that hosted a Black film festival. Along with African films and documentaries, there was an interview w/ Bob Marley, and some films for children. There was also an African fashion show, and a wonderful teacher of African dance, in which I participated.
This will be brief, but I am taking this moment to try to express a few thoughts on culture.
We all have a cultural background. For whites in America, we have lost touch w/ it, for example Dutch traditions, or German traditions, the language, the foods, the holidays. If we go back far enough, there would be a native “dance”, there would be a style of music, and some type of drums or instruments. For example, the Irish drum, the Scottish bagpipes, etc.
I believe there somehow has to be a BLEND, a mixing of paint into some new color, to move toward the future. In other words, no we cannot return to African traditional religion, Indian traditional religion. It really doesn’t help us to try to go back to whatever religion our ancestors had, the way they worshipped, in some cases, such as smoking peyote. The soul food tradition came out of slavery, when slaves were fed the scraps. It’s a lot of fat & the parts of the meat that the heads of households were willing to throw away (chicken necks, chitlins, etc.).
Partly the reason people want to “go back to” is because it was “taken away from” by force. People were stopped from naturally evolving into something else. When something is forcibly taken from you, then you want to go back & get it. So part of what I’m saying about culture is, we all want to know our roots, and for some, those roots are a RETURNING TO what was, & we want to bring that back out and understand it, embrace it and celebrate it. But some of those things are best left in the past. For example, polygamy in African culture. There is NO WAY you can have polygamy, and say women are equal. They’re not. It is set up for the man’s enjoyment, and the man’s power over women, and the man’s convenience. How nice for him. Some things are best understood, respected, but then left behind. We have evolved since then!
Secondly, we truly ARE one people. We are ONE people. We are one PEOPLE. We are the human family, the human race. So IF we TRULY believe that, then it is possible for any person today, to appreciate, and relate to, the best of any cultural tradition of the past. For example, white people, some white people, can truly feel the drums, feel the music, and learn African or any other type of dance. It is possible. Some white people or black people can truly appreciate the reverence for the earth that is part of many Indian traditions, and they can cleanse their souls in a sweat lodge. IOW, you don’t have to be “1/2, 1/4, or 1/10th Indian” in order to FEEL the truth & the cleansing of those traditions.
So partly I think we all want to know where we come from and who our ancestors were. I really, really want to know when MY family came to America. And I don’t know if I will ever unravel that mystery– but probably somebody will, because more & more paper historical documents will be posted online as time goes on. It will actually be easier & easier to trace your roots in the future. The task now is to find any living relatives who may have personal pictures, knowledge or stories.
But on the other hand, we have to somehow open the WINDOW or DOOR to allow people of any cultural background to come in and smell the flowers and the good food from our own cultural backgrounds. And there is still a lot of resistance to doing that today. The Black film festival was meticulously organized, and poorly advertised. Especially to people not of African heritage. How are you going to encourage appreciation of your culture among people of various backgrounds if you only publicize it to black folk, and only share it w/ the few who happen to be within your own social circle? Al & I were “the white folk” for the most part, which is fine, been there, done that before. But there just weren’t many people there in general. And I don’t think the Columbia community was even aware of it. Which is a shame, to me. I went to a sociology conference last year. Turns out, it was a historically Black sociology group. I was the only white person there. In my older age, I’ve done this so many times now that I’m just tired of it. My longing is to be within a mixed crowd. The flower garden is prettier when there are many colors represented. I don’t relish being somewhere, where people look at me wondering what I’m trying to prove, what I want out of being there. I did not really feel this at the film festival, but have felt it so many ways at other all-black gatherings, I’m just not interested anymore. I think that any group today that focuses totally inward & blocks other people out, is out of touch w/ the needs of the world. It is good to know one’s heritage, to respect it, embrace it, teach it to future generations. But we also need something more. Groups totally focused on their own are destined to not progress, and to die out. Are we really one human race, or not.
In any case, these are my brief thoughts on culture tonight.
Doctor Grandma 
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