Happy Birthday America…

So over the past few months I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be an American and what America stands for, I know the blog may not reflect that but its the truth, and I feel that 4th of July is a great time to put some of those thoughts onto the blog and process through some more things.

I write this post on the eve of America’s 233rd birthday celebration, and this will be an interesting time for me as it will be the first time that I will be in America for the 4th of july in the past 4 years. The past three summers I have spent traveling abroad and 4th of July would come and go relatively unnoticed and would be no different than any other day. So as I prepare for my first 4th of July celebration in a few years, a lot comes to my mind.

I am the first one to admit that America is far from perfect and I readily share my feelings on many issues with those who ask, but today I want to look at one great thing that I believe America represents and always has represented since its foundation. The eastern shores of the United States first brought refuge and hope to people seeking religious freedom and a chance to start a new life. When America declared its independence from Britain in 1776 it was an act of defiance against a governing power that the people no longer wanted. It was a declaration of freedom, but ultimately it was a declaration of hope. A declaration of hope that has not been silenced in the 200+ years since. Today the United States of America still represents hope to millions of people within its borders and around the world. It is this hope that America represents and I pray it always does.

It is this hope that has led to America being a country built upon diversity of religion, race and any number of other societal markers. It the hope that there may be a better life that can be achieved that has drawn millions to America’s shores and driven many more born here to improve their lives greatly through hard work and innovation. Sure there may be many hardships faced by those who arrive on our shores and even many hardships for those who are born here, there remains a hope that there are better days ahead.

So on this 4th of July I plan on celebrating that hope. I will leave all other issues alone and celebrate the greatest human need around the world; hope. And as I celebrate I will trust that there are better days ahead for America and that it will continue to represent hope to those around the world who need it. Better things are ahead and for that I will celebrate.

Redemption?…

Redeeming the West…what exactly does that redemption look like?

I’m not talking about changing Western culture or even learning to affirm or celebrate all aspects of Western culture. What I’m actually talking about is the fact that Western culture is often looked down upon in both the eyes of the world and the eyes of westerners. While I fully understand many people’s frustrations with America and Western culture, the fact is that it is a broken culture just like every other culture in the world, I’m tired of seeing the cultures of the world affirmed while the West continues to be bashed. I understand that its easy to find interesting and exciting facets of other cultures, but the fact is that we are really not appreciating these cultures for what they are but are essentially affirming these cultures because of what the West is not. We are not viewing these cultures from a position of fullness but from a position of brokenness. We are looking at these cultures through the broken lense of our cultural emptiness, not because we lack a genuine culture but because we do not understand the full picture of what Western culture represents.  So what do I actually mean by redemption?  What I mean is that our understanding of what Western culture needs to be “redeemed” to a full picture.  We, as Westerners can no longer afford to look at the world through the limited eyes of our lack of cultural understanding. We must come to a full understanding of what our culture truly embodies if we desire to ever fully affirm the other cultures of the world. While you do not have to affirm all aspects of Western culture, to deny or neglect aspects of it does nothing but leave you functioning from a cultural deficit. So, redemption does NOT mean that I am seeking to fix all of the problems with the West, but it does mean that I am seeking to redeem the way that Westerners understand their own culture. Acknowledging all aspects of Western culture, both good and bad, is the only way that we can learn to function as full people in this world of diverse cultures.

Building a Foundation…

So recently I have been thinking a lot about this idea of redeeming the West. By that, I mean that I have been thinking about how the West is perceived and whether or not I agree with the way that I have been taught to view Western culture. I have been giving this a lot of thought and it is still an ongoing debate that I am working out in my mind, which means that this is the first post of what may become a minor obsession.

So ultimately this first post will be one that serves as the foundation for the future inner dialogue that will be made public on this blog.  With that in mind, here is where I am coming from.  I am a 21 year-old white kid from the suburbs of Southern California; raised in a middle class family trying to live the “American Dream.”  I’m currently a senior, studying Intercultural Studies at a university that will remain unnamed.  I have spent the past 3 summers in Eastern Europe, specifically Moldova, Ukraine, and Hungary.  So that’s where I am coming from and how my understanding of Western culture, and the world in general, has been shaped.

While this blog is titled “Redeeming the West,” I will be specifically looking into American culture, which is often interpreted as the face of Western culture by those outside of the West.  This blog is not simply a criticism of Western culture but is also a look into the necessity of understanding Western culture in light of interacting in other cultures.  Because after all, its easy to present criticisms of something, but criticism alone solves nothing.  So basically this blog is gonna be kinda open ended where I will present my opinions or vent my frustrations, it will just depend on the day.  I’ll try to clarify specifically what I am talking about in each post, but in general it will probably be related to how the rest of the world sees the West, how the West should understand itself, or how I am processing my identity as a Westerner.

The question that really started this whole conversation for me is: “In our search to understand other cultures, are we killing our own?” This is the question that I came up with as I considered the effects of Western colonialism, and considered the way that the Western culture is still thought to be an oppressive force on the rest of the world. While there is no doubt in my mind that the West has often imposed its views on other cultures in the world, I still see the West as being something that must be redeemed if we, as Westerners, want to understand the rest of the world.