the curious world of culture

Prompted by some blogs I have read or responded to, I felt the need to say something in a much more lengthy form than some comment that may go unnoticed by many. So here goes - with apologies for the rather heady/abstract material and possible controversial stances, but what must be said, must be said.

Despite the many times that I have brought up the major impact that cultural context has on our everyday lives, I think there are a lot of people out there (including some who read this) who either don't accept the fact or don't understand the depth of influence that culture has. From the moment we are born, we are immersed so completely into a particular world culture that every theme and the very essence of that culture becomes ingrained into everything we do, say, and comprehend. Often times, part of that cultural inheritance is a mindset that your culture is the right one and people who don't follow your cultural standards are wrong. I think the effect is best summed up by Obi-wan Kenobi in Return of the Jedi - "Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view." (Quote from the 1983 novelization).

Oddly enough, doesn't Jesus follow the same logic? Wasn't Jesus counter-cultural? Isn't that part of the whole point of the Good Samaritan parable in Luke 10? Jesus basically said (pardon my language), anybody can be an ignorant, apathetic ass hole regardless of their culture or status in life. The parable in modern terms could just as easily use a Catholic priest, a conservative Evangelical Christian, and for the hospitable role an Islamic Jordanian, Pakistani, Saudi Arabian, etc. Jesus was also telling people to stop allowing culture to be the basis for comparison and judgment in life, it's a regional, man-made standard for societal normality and it's wrong to push that frame of reference onto someone who wasn't raised in it.

We also need to start being accountable for our own frame of reference and cultural biases. The United States has been increasingly becoming a nation where one is no longer accountable for their behavior. Sure, if you kill someone you will be held accountable, but something made you do it - the voice in your head, the vicious childhood, the demeaning society - everyone is a victim. Men who have a wandering eye when it comes to women will claim, "I can't help it, I'm a guy and that's the way I'm wired," or some other nonsense. Women will complain about how high heels and tight dresses are uncomfortable to wear, and yet claim they have no choice because that's what fashion says they have to wear. These types of excuses crop up all the time, or some other variant, and I know these are vast generalizations but the point is they exist. The culture we have established and supported over the years has compensated by placing the responsibility on everybody else but the person with the problem. "Men have wandering eyes? Then women should be modest and not wear revealing clothing." Or perhaps, "People are becoming obese? Well then restaurants need to start offering healthier food." Why isn't it the man's responsibility to learn that women are not sex objects for his viewing pleasure? Wouldn't that kind of eliminate the modest/controversial clothing issue? Why isn't it the overweight person's responsibility to eat healthier and exercise?

Jesus talked about this, though we pretend he didn't. We like to pigeon hole his advice into specific categories it sometimes seems. Again from Luke, "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor'’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, '“Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." This particular verse we like apply to sin and hypocrisy, but nothing else. I say this verse is aptly applied to cultural behavior and attitudes. Sticking with the sexual objectivity issue - how can we almost instantaneously make the shift of saying that a scantily clad woman in our society is a sexual object that men can't help but stare at, to looking at scarcely clothed tribal women in a third world country and have an attitude of superiority and pity. The answer, it's actually fairly easy, because we are stupid enough to listen to the marketing hype that the media and entertainment industry tells us is the truth. They tell women they are strong, confident, sexy individuals who can wear whatever they want because sexuality is the currency of the world. They tell men they are muscled, intelligent, rugged individuals who can't help but be attracted to scantily clad women of Western civilization who exist to be pleasing to the eye. Don't deny it, despite the age of political correctness and women's empowerment, the message is still be broadcast loud and clear that in Western civilization, especially in the United States, men are the powerful "providers" who are rewarded for their hard work with beautiful, sensual women who will tend to their every need (but who can have their own career, too). Sort of funny isn't it, sounds very familiar to me - where else have I heard about men being rewarded for work with women? Oh yeah, fundamentalist Muslims believe that martyrs (people who die in defense of their faith) are granted numerous beautiful women, and plenty of creature comforts when they arrive in paradise. So their after-life is what Western civilization touts as reward in real life - hard working men get beautiful women.

I'm not casting stones here, as many would probably head my way in return. However, I am casting light on a controversial topic that I think more people need to stop and think about. I have been told I have a great gift for seeing things from many perspectives, I can "walk a mile in another person's shoes" fairly well so to speak. Just remember, from the moment we are born there is a cultural filter being assembled in our brains that contextualizes everything we experience. Sometimes we need to stop and think about things a little longer in order to brush away petty differences and truly understand the core issues, because we can't let culture rule the way we live our lives - as Christians, isn't there something or someone else that is supposed to fill that role?

Then again, I could be totally off-base...