Recently, a friend gave me a poem by Otto Rene Castillo. This poem was entitled 'Apolitical Intellectuals' and was translated from Spanish. Here are some excerpts: (i'm taking out the line breaks to save space)
"One day the apolitical intellectuals of my country will be interrogated by the simplest of our people. They will be asked what they did when their nation died out slowly, like a sweet fire, small and alone....On that day the simple men will come...and they'll ask: "What did you do when the poor suffered, when tenderness and life burned out in them" Apolitical intellectuals of my sweet country, you will not be able to answer. A vulture of silence will eat your gut. Your own misery will pick at your soul. And you will be mute...in your shame."
I bring this poem up because we are amidst a cultural pandemic that has not culminated but begun with our economic crisis. I also bring this poem up because I found it relevant to the political drama of recent weeks and also because I found it personally inspiring.
This past week, I had the opportunity of touring the United Nations with my fellow Columbia students. We had the privilege of attending a forum where many high-ranking officials of the UN spoke. One particular man who worked for the high commissioner for human rights was particularly memorable. He fervently believed in the idea that human rights should be placed above all and was saddened by how many countries, including the United States have made excuses and abused the universally agreed rights of every human being. He received questions from concerned students from China, Afghanistan and Myanmar. What struck me was how the United States was viewed and alluded to. The speakers, on numerous occasions, referred to how they hope the 'new administration' would be better in dealing with human rights issues.
It almost seemed like to me that the United States was viewed as a sort of 'monster' by many outsiders. It seems like our culture has become this monster that we fear ourselves, but we cannot escape from it because we also desire it. Sarah in her previous post talked about harmonizing the American mindset, and Andrew talked about how we must use cultural evolution to solve our problems-- how can we find a way to change our way of thinking and our way of life?
Yet there is hope-- I mentioned the poem because I felt it speaks to what I believe in. During the UN tour, the guide also mentioned something that I found inspiring. He mentioned this food called 'plumpy-nut' (you can wiki it) that is used by UNICEF. This food is a sort of paste that contains lots of nutrients, is easy to eat and easy to digest. A french scientist developed this in 1999 and it has shown to be very effective, especially with starving children. This is the kind of work scientists should be doing. Has nobody in the last 9 years been able to develop something better? Researchers can change the issue of world hunger but instead many doctors spend their time getting rich on cosmetics, liposuction and breast implants. How can we change our mindset to focus on things that matter? Before it's too late?
Do you feel that American culture is a type of monster in itself? Is it not a monster that continues to spread across the world? How can we stop it? How can we reverse it? Cohen's monster is one that is indestructible. Is our monster any different?
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I often find, from my experience in other countries, a lingering distaste for America. This is true not only of third world countries, but even European nations. Obviously this is not the true of all non-Americans but it is certainly prevalent enough to be mentioned and discussed. My parents, primarily my mother, often told not to be like the "stupid American kids" and for a long time that was my only motivation. For an even longer time I could not find enough evidence to prove her comment highly ignorant for there was never more than 5 people in my grade on the same intelligence level as me (and I mean than in the least conceited way possible).
That aside, I feel that America has two identities (among others) to foreigners. Some view it as a land of the ignorant and unworthy, while others see it as the monster you've noticed. It is a monster that will continue to spread and evolve, through military and economic endeavors. Therefore the only way this monster can be destroyed is by becoming the norm. It is not until America is accepted everywhere, that the world will cease to see us as a threat or monster.
Sheldon, I really like the poem you posted. It reminded me of last winter. After babysitting for my neighbor the father asked me to stay a little longer so he could talk to me about something. At first he was just rambling, talking about some of his favorite songs. Then he told me a few of his favorite quotes. His number one: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned." We talked about the quote for a minute or two and out of nowhere he hit his fist on the table, “You see, what I’m trying to tell you is don’t lay down!”
He asked me a million questions and got me to ask a million questions and then begin answer them. Among the million, he asked me what was wrong with my generation. Why were we so not caring? Why weren’t we angry? Why aren’t we building movements and making noise? Why doesn’t Bhutto’s killing enrage us? Why are we just sitting on our asses? I gave some explanations: (now, I can’t speak on behalf of the entire American teenage population, but) We’re too lazy to care because our lives are so easy we don’t have to. If we don’t find time to read the newspaper, it doesn’t matter. If we don’t want to discuss the War in Iraq or think about Guantanamo Bay, we don’t have to because we feel these things don’t directly affect us. We know, or at least get the impression, that it doesn’t matter how things are going out there because no matter what our lives are going to stay pretty much the same: we have a nice town, nice houses, cars, food, money, etc.
He told me we have to transform into Generation Ask. “You have to start questioning everything.” I sent some emails to my friends asking, “Generation Ask, why aren’t you asking questions? And I got some pretty interesting answers.
One response: “It is pretty pathetic what our generation is concerned with. I've heard more about Britney Spears in the past year than I have about Global Warming, Gay Marriage, and the war in Iraq put together. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, and maybe I watch way too much VH1, but it really seems like the media directed towards our generation cares more about what Paris Hilton ate for lunch than which world leader died today. I'm not saying our generation's ignorance should be blamed on the media; it should be blamed completely on us. I do, however, think that a big change in this is going to happen soon. With our country in such a terrible state, soon enough it will have an effect on our rich and sheltered lives, and hopefully wake all of us up little. The whole country is already geared for change (I mean each day that goes by, it seems more and more likely that the next president will be either black or a woman). So I'm at least a little hopeful.
And P.S., it's not like our generation is the only one with really ignorant people. For example, a while ago I was watching a disgusting show called ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County’ on which a woman said, ‘I'm going to vote for George Bush, because he keeps me rich!’ I gagged a little.”
When you asked if the monster will ever fall I thought of Collapse by Jared Diamond. I never read it, but it is about the falling apart of great societies of the past.
I don’t think it’s in his book, but related is Easter Island: a small island quite far off the coast of Chile. It’s famous for the large stone heads all over the island. When natives first arrived the island was a paradise, huge palm trees, abundance of fish in the surrounding water, birds, etc....the main activities of the natives consisted of making large, sea faring canoes out of the palm trees and building these huge stone heads, which represented status, and to move them around they used planks of wood cut from trees. The island is small, about 63 sq miles. I don´t know the shape of the island, but imagine, that it’s something like 7 by 9. Eventually, they ran out of trees and their last fishing boats were nonfunctional/lost/broken/whatever and so the people could no longer go out to see to fish. Much of the vegetation had died, the birds had flown away. I wonder what that man thought when he saw he was cutting down the last tree. Did he wonder, ¨Hey we´re pretty screwed when the canoe from this tree breaks. What are we going to do then?¨ When the Europeans arrived in the early 1700s they found a few men left eating rats and weeds, some had turned to cannibalism. This is just a very simple example of a civilization driving itself into the ground. The trees kept them alive and once they had cut down all the trees they were goners.
It seems like this is where our civilization is headed. We are living with carelessness, unthinking of our consequences, leaving issues to be dealt with later, essentially destroying the world around us.
Our culture seems to be too privileged to worry. And we don’t mind if the world is pissed off with us because we are the biggest and the best. (And it is this arrogant attitude that makes things worse.) But how long will it stay that way? America’s power and influence is in decline. Just like every great society we will fall. I think then our monster will die.
I think that the culture of America is a bit of a monster, and that especially in recent years it has become increasingly clear that many other cultures think of us as that as well. Coming from another country that is not a wealthy and powerful as the US, it is interesting to hear what outsiders have to day. My country is very much dependent on this country, but at the same time there is a fair amount of bitterness towards the way of life in this nation. I think that some of this ill feeling comes from America’s disregard for other people and the belief that is beliefs trump those of others. There seems to be this commonly accepted idea that those who do not live in America crave democracy and freedom, when it seems like there is less and less regard for America with each passing day.
To comment on the question of American culture as a monster, I'd have to say that I think it's a bit more complicated than that. I would argue that American culture is more like a vacuum than a melting pot, but I'm not sure if it is a monster in itself. I think that there are manifestations of elitism, prejudice, and ignorance that can be monsters, but to say American "culture" is a monster leaves a lot left to be said.
What interested me more in this provocation was the concept of apolitical intellectuals and the "silence" they so often live in. This struck me as incredibly significant as a student at an ivy league institution during the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, a war in the middle east mirroring the demise of Vietnam, and a country torn by the political and economic implications of the two. What can the "intellectuals" of a society really do? Edward Said, renowned author and intellect, said that "intelligence means responsibility." He said how intelligence should never mean things that "don't deserve celebrating," rather it should be a constant challenging and expanding in which new frontiers are taken on in the name of humanity.
If there is one motivation I have or one hope I hold, it is that I am never "silent." The only significance my education will ever have is if I question what surrounds me and devote myself to its exploration. Otherwise, I think that I may become a monster.
Interesting piece Sheldon, I think you make some valid points about our current culture and our mindset to that culture.
I wouldn't call our culture here in America a "monster" however, simply because there are less people who may fear it than praise and enjoy it. There may in fact be aspects of American culture that are "monstrous" but most to me seem exciting and inviting in nature. Take our love of sports. I think one of the greatest things about American culture is the level of competitiveness our sports teams have as well as fans of those teams have with other fans. Baseball, basketball, hockey and most of all football have some some of the most bitter rivalries I've ever seen not only between two teams but whole cities. The Yankees and the Red Sox, the Cowboys and the Eagles, the Flyers and the Devils, etc...I could go on for a while but what I think these types of things prove is the uniqueness of American culture and even more so, the level at which it can include everyone. Every person can feel some connection; some investment in the system. And they don't need to fear it either.
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