Culture
Does American culture really exist?
This past week was a very special holiday. Columbus day.
As debates rage across the country of the very EXISTENCE of this so-called national holiday, seven states have already replaced it with "Indigenous People's Day" in commemoration of the destruction and havoc brought upon their lives due to the beginning of modern-day America, when Columbus first step foot on the land.
As this day suggests, the battle over the very start of civilization in America implies that Americans cannot agree on the origin of their own culture. Indicated by even the food we eat, American culture does not really exist. But on the other side of the debate, American culture exists from the diversity of the country itself, the coexistence of every culture from across the world. In Song of Soloman, Milkman "wondered what they would do if they didn’t have the black and white problems to talk about. Who would they be if they couldn’t describe the insults, violence, and oppression that their lives (and the television news) were made up of?" This correlates with the fact that American culture stems from the diversity of the culture in itself.
From my own perspective, the variance within the country which supposedly accepts all is what makes it special. But to the millions who's own culture has been stolen and swept away, American culture originates from the removal of their own, and the importance of acknowledging this is obvious. So for now, happy not so happy belated Indigenous People's Day.
Please comment below your opinion on this debate (respectfully) :))
This past week was a very special holiday. Columbus day.
As debates rage across the country of the very EXISTENCE of this so-called national holiday, seven states have already replaced it with "Indigenous People's Day" in commemoration of the destruction and havoc brought upon their lives due to the beginning of modern-day America, when Columbus first step foot on the land.
As this day suggests, the battle over the very start of civilization in America implies that Americans cannot agree on the origin of their own culture. Indicated by even the food we eat, American culture does not really exist. But on the other side of the debate, American culture exists from the diversity of the country itself, the coexistence of every culture from across the world. In Song of Soloman, Milkman "wondered what they would do if they didn’t have the black and white problems to talk about. Who would they be if they couldn’t describe the insults, violence, and oppression that their lives (and the television news) were made up of?" This correlates with the fact that American culture stems from the diversity of the culture in itself.
From my own perspective, the variance within the country which supposedly accepts all is what makes it special. But to the millions who's own culture has been stolen and swept away, American culture originates from the removal of their own, and the importance of acknowledging this is obvious. So for now, happy not so happy belated Indigenous People's Day.
Please comment below your opinion on this debate (respectfully) :))
what the heck - this post is amazing. Like it took all my thoughts over the years and expressed it so beautifully and wonderfully in one eloquent post. Your last sentence about how American culture has also stolen and even removed other cultures was such an interesting perspective to me, I feel as if we often forget that America's diversity and foundation came at such a high cost.
ReplyDeleteAs for the actual debate itself, I'm not going to get too political hehe. I totally agree with you on how diversity is America's strength and how it definitely is one of the defining factors of America. On the other hand, I do think we should respect the cultural barriers and boundaries of each culture or race that has shaped America - there should be a balance between other cultural influences and cultures being forced to assimilate into mainstream American culture (which should never happen).
I guess there is no single culture that defines America. I agree that America takes other cultures and attempts to make it their own... (maybe not necessarily stealing... more like simplifying it (like what they did to the English language... getting rid of the 'u' in color and maybe the ingredients in food)). Then again, America does have a culture or so... I mean McDonald's is a thing... burgers... just a bunch of junk food in general... Diversity is probably the most accurate thing that makes America different from others. I feel like America should just happily accept all cultures (even though it sounds pretty impossible... because racism is still a thing somehow). Maybe (hopefully) it will happen in the future.
ReplyDeletehey parvathi, great job on this post! I am so fascinated by the Colombus Day debate and it really exposes the American culture and how it wasn't fully agreed on during the start. I never knew that it was also called Indigenous People's Day, but it really does make sense when looking at the other side of the debate. Personally, I believe that the origin of America should equally represent all associated people in order to equally describe the cultures and groups that helped America become what it is today. Even though, as Jessie mentioned, it may seem impossible to do so, that is the only way to properly and respectfully describe the origin of American culture. This post is very though-provoking and a great read.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used this post to inspire us to formulate our own opinions and I also agree with what you are claiming. I also think that you are correct in Americans not agreeing on their own culture because many families that have been here for centuries have a culture but it is not the true American culture. Because of this, I also agree that America should come to accept all cultures because there is no one culture that unites America.
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