December 27, 2007
A Sad Day for Pakistan
Please pray for the family of Benazir Bhutto, for the families of the others who died, for the peace of the country of Pakistan, for more people to come to know Jesus.
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July 16, 2007
A Passage to America
In preparing for a non-western literature class which I teach, I read a short essay by the Indian writer R. K. Narayan. It was about a visit he had made to America and the situation of Indian immigrants in this society. This last paragraph struck me as something of an indictment of our culture and, more pointedly, of how the church is not really distinct from it at all. This essay was written in 1985. I think in some ways our cultural life in America has become more holistic and multi-cultural since that time, but at the same time consistently more and more materialistic as well, a strange combination. I am not saying I agree with all that follows, and perhaps it paints with a bit of a broad brush, but it does provide some food for thought. Here is Narayan:
"Ultimately, America and India are profoundly different in attitude and philosophy, though it would be wonderful if they could complement each other's values. Indian philosophy stresses austerity and unencumbered, uncomplicated day-to-day living. America's emphasis, on the other hand, is on material acquisition and the limitless pursuit of prosperity. From childhood an Indian is brought up on the notion that austerity and a contended life are good; a certain otherworldliness is inculcated through a grandmother's tales, the discourses at the temple hall, and moral books. The American temperament, on the contrary, is pragmatic. The American has a robust indifference to eternity. "Attend church on Sunday and listen to the sermon, but don't bother about the future," he seems to say. Also, he seems to echo Omar Khayyam's philosophy: "Dead yesterday and unborn tomorrow, why fret about them if today be sweet?" He works hard and earnestly, acquires wealth and enjoys life. He has no time to worry about the afterlife, only taking care to draw up a proper will and trusting the funeral home to take care of the rest. The Indian in America who is not able to live wholeheartedly on this basis finds himself in a halfway house; he is unable to overcome his conflicts while physically flourishing on American soil. One may hope that the next generation of American-grown Indians will do better by accepting the American climate spontaneously or, alternatively, returning to India to a live a different life."
Those are interesting choices that Narayan offers at the end of that paragraph. Are there any others? This all reminded me a great deal of the movie The Namesake. Also, do you think Narayan is right about Americans? "The American has a robust indifference to eternity." Wow.
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May 21, 2007
Objectification or Empowerment?
I just read this story from BBC News which seems to me to represent in microcosm several things:
1) It seems like this echoes discussions that the United States had many years ago. And the answers that our culture came up with surely, surely shape, no perhaps even created, this very conversation in the Middle East.
2) Rightly or wrongly, this influence of the West is one of issues that is at the root of the Islamic terrorism.
So, is this objectification or empowerment or both? Do Muslims have any justification in being angry at the West for such cultural influences? Are concepts such as propriety and modest hopelessly culturally relative or at least always culturally situated?
Lots of questions. I don't have many firm answers. I do know that in cultures where there is not much overt suggestive material, such as in Pakistan where I grew up, even a little bit of suggestion can have a powerful effect. Should this be the norm/ideal? Alternately, is a more European view of nudity and the body, etc. appropriate and even healthy? What does Christianity inform us to do? Is its message different for different cultures?
Oh, and for reference, here are some Youtube videos of several of the performers mentioned in the BBC article. Pretty tame by today's Western standards; way out there by Islamic standards, though perhaps not by pre-Islamic Middle Eastern standards, because there is the traditional belly dance after all. In the selections below, Nancy is a little more traditional, in her first video at least. Haifa? Well, she could give Shakira a run for her money.
Haifa Wehbe
Nancy Ajram
Nancy Ajram
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May 2, 2007
One More Story on America by Matt Frei
Recently the Oxford Union debated the motion ""this House regrets the Founding of America." Matt Frei says he is happy to report that the resolution was "overwhelmingly squashed." His article is not a blind defense of the U.S., but it is interesting in its balance and humor even. Here are some excerpts:
The US is a nation built not on ethnicity, not on religion, not even on history but on an idea.
Not only does this make America different, I would argue it also makes it ideally suited for the 21st Century. We live in a globalised world in which national boundaries are less and less relevant and the citizenship of ideas is more and more defining.
Al-Qaeda also strives for a world without borders, a trans-national entity based on ideas, which a majority of Muslims find as unpalatable as we do. So, ask yourself and be honest: where would you rather live - the Caliphate or California?
***
The reality of America may be vexing, frustrating, infuriating and puzzling but its promise is no less real and, given the right voice, should be no less inspiring.
Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and yes, so many aspects of the war in Iraq, were big mistakes. But these are aspects of current foreign policy, not part of the nation's DNA. They are lamented as much inside the US as outside. And that too speaks for America!
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April 26, 2007
The Last Bits of the Anti-Americanism Series from the BBC
Here is a quote from the third and final part of this series, reported from Cairo:
The United States is not the capital of world liberalism.
What is it, then?
Home to 300 million people, most of whom genuinely believe they have earned the right to lead the world, though not to coerce it.
Perhaps one day they will meet their nemesis and American dominance will be a memory?
Other nations or movements will be in charge and I suspect we - or our children - will long to have the Yanks back.
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Here is a a Q & A with the series' author.
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Here is a 30 minute audio program, centered on Venezuela, which has some dramatic lines from Venezquelan President Hugo Chavez at its beginning (I have not listened to the whole broadcast).
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And for the truly hardcore, here is a discussion board with pages and pages and pages and pages of comments. Click the "Readers Recommended" tab for a more select, and, persumably, more biased against America set of comments, at least that is how I would expect the majority of readers of BBC News to swing.
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And, yes, that is the McFalafel in an Egyptian McDonalds pictured above.
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April 20, 2007
"Death to America" (Part 2): Venezuela
I think this picture is from Bolivia, but here is the second part of the BBC series. And a bonus article and discussion of anti-american sentiment feeling like racism in Britain.
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April 12, 2007
A Fascinating Series ::: A Fascinating Post
As someone who is half American by blood, though more so by choice, I often find myself in the middle in debates about America. With those who hate America (including Americans) or strongly dislike aspects of it, whether it be its educational system or its capitalism or its policies writ large or the attitude of Americans, I find myself defending America. With those who are overly patriotic and can see America doing no wrong, I question some of their assumptions. Though, truth be known, I am really more pro than con, in a general sense.
That is why I found this introduction to a series of articles fascinating, particularly coming as it does from the generally America unfriendly (though their web site is better than their television news) BBC News.
Here is the link. Here's a the intro:
The US is perceived by many as an international bully, a modern day imperial power. At this critical moment in history, Washington correspondent Justin Webb challenges that idea.
He argues anti-Americanism is often a cover for hatreds with little justification in fact. His three part series takes him to Cairo, Caracas and Washington but it begins where anti-Americanism began - in Paris.
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This part is actually an addendum to the part above, so the category of "World Affairs" doesn't really work. Though if you you pun off of the word "affairs," or lack thereof, perhaps it does. In the continuing series of posts on singlehood...
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