When I was working on my bachelor's degree, I was a Spanish major, and that meant a lot of course work in classes learning the actual language - reading, speaking, listening, writing. It also meant work around learning about the
'culture' of Spanish speaking peoples. And there are many. This week, we are on Spring Break One Five, and I was thankful to spend time with my girls, slip away for a couple of days (even if it wasn't to a warm place or to Florida). Just being with them and enjoying each other and exploring and living life without the weight of all we need to do and be is glorious. But I digress to the culture moment. As I looked out onto Lake Michigan thawing, watched the girls run and record jump kicks in the sand, and have my superstar put her arms around me, I was struck by a learning back at CMU - fire up chips. We learned about the
'big C' and
'little c' of cultures. Too heavy to get into, but the basic gist is there are big overarching cultural norms (big C), and smaller more confined cultural norms (little c). As I to process the culture C's I learned about years ago, I have been applying that lens onto life in different cultures. I could go into the processing of the different cultural contexts of the schools/organizations I have been a part of over the last twenty years or so. I could go into the learnings of different C's in the neighborhoods, townships, cities, or streets we have lived on. I could certainly process the culture C's of the church communities I have engaged with. But I am going to go back to a
'Big C' ~ an overarching broad stroke of culture. First, let me say that this has been something I have truly enjoyed during my adult life - entering into different cultures, learning about and from them, assimilating into them or not, growing my own beliefs and norms from engaging with other cultures. I have been blessed to spend time in many cultures in my life, and engagement with each one has stretched my lens of life and what I see as God's design in placing people into each other's lives as a plan to grow to know His heart and soul more - and for us to learn from Him. I have some thoughts on the cultural norms - or
'little c' that have been hitting me this week. Most cultures in their
'Big C' will guide, grow, and shape their own cultural group toward what is true and right, and help others in that fight to maintain the cultural heritage, values, and norms that provide a basis for success for the culture. However, some cultural groups are not willing to stand up for the truth and values and norms that will maintain what is good for the big C of their group, clan, people. This is the destruction of our societal culture in my eyes, and it may be what is happening in our melting pot of Big C culture. The toxic nature of a group of people engaged in a life/society/world of efforts toward living in harmony that will not stand up and say no to the unacceptable practices that will destroy both big and little c's ~ and reject the passive stance of what we need to do to maintain what is good and pure and right for the future ~ I wonder if this is what I am sitting in? Am I not allowed to stand up for destroying the toxicity in general, or because the people around me from many cultures aren't willing to stand together to say no to toxic cultural practices?
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