The Concept of Dreaming part I
05/05/08 22:42
At this point in our
travels I can't help but think about the things we've
experienced - it might be a bit sketchy, but hang on
and you should be fine.
One can read books, write essays, theorize of justice, love or even hatred before visiting - hell it can be done without ever visiting. I seek to judge people by their own standards and not my own, which obviously not objective as my interpretation will always be there. But it is, again in my opinion the best way to understand.
That is what made this journey so fascinating. The US is a country towards which we all have feelings, both good and bad - but with the amount of TV,music, movies, food and whatever you can get, that we’re receiving from the US it is impossible not to feel. And this was (and is) a strong motivational force behind this journey: the attempt to talk to americans.
No agenda in dialogue, no pre(mis)conception as to why people do what they do. Only the perception of what they are doing. By following and listening to the sounds, watching the everyday motions or just experiencing the horizons of the american scenery. The common perceptions of the american individual is that of a strong willed, self centered individual who cares only for himself and his family.
No question about it - this is the place to be if you want to be yourself. This is the country of self expression and individuality, especially compared to Europe.
They’re every bit as social as anything I’ve ever seen. The prejudice/expectation of the society as an almost anti-social place has no place in the real world. I do however have to reemphasize the focus of the query - a query that was never aimed to be scientific, but more that of letting the natives themselves explain to me through their own words what they saw and felt.
By just hanging out with people in the circles they normally fare in, we have been welcomed as guests, and have experienced unlimited hospitality and a enthusiasm for our project that - at least the strength of it - was unexpected.
So what have I found?
I have found communities based on values. America is still big enough to house people of almost opposite opinions. It differs frm Europe in the sense that we - in our seperate countries - are forced to live by values that not all of us agree with. We endure this because we have no choice; there is basically nowhere we can go if we disagree. That possibility still exists in the US - at least geographically. We have had the pleasure of christian hospitality several places. It has not been the christianity so often depicted in the media - the condemning one of the pastor Fred Phelps and his family.
It has been the hospitality of people who believe in not only the values of the bible, but also the word. The reason to emphasize the values are simple: we have also had the pleasure of visiting the ‘not-so-religious’, even atheists. In those circles the hospitality has been the same. The values of treating each other with respect - although disagreeing (through dialogue) - stands just as strong in these communities.
Every community we have visited seems as a tight knit group of individuals who share not only the same values, but also the same beliefs. And the beliefs are the issue when trying to grasp the american dream: at the foundation of all this lies the innate belief that every man gets to decide for himself. And once he has decided he can voice out his beliefs amongst equals, and usually he’ll end up amongst people who not only share his values but also his beliefs.
These groups of people - be they a town or even a parish in the suburbs of a midsized town - stick together and help each other. They are a close knit group coexisting through not only the same values, but also through the same beliefs - be it the Bible, Torah or Darwin’s thoughts on evolution that create the foundation. Within these small conclaves they find the security that entire nations in Europe so desperately seek.
But even though their beliefs are often expressed in the same way, they always differ on other points. There is always something that will keep them from joining up, always something that makes it utterly impossible to live in harmony. Luckily the country is big enough to keep different factions far from each other.
A point could be made that this is not a country - especially in Europe, the role of the state is viewed in a totally different view. Helping in the US seems to be the role of society, not the state. The society in which you reside will keep you afloat. The people with whom you share a core of beliefs will help you in the way that you and they agree upon. Different groups have different ways of helping, but they will help.
In Europe, the role of the state is seen as much more. It is - one could argue - much more invasive. It will tell its citizens what is the right thing to do - how to help. This in turns sounds insane to the average american: they would agree that you always help the people you know who need it, but certainly you cannot be held responsible for someone to who you have no ties.
The issue as such isn’t with helping or solidarity within the different microcosms that constitute the societies - it’s the fact that they totally, utterly disagree on how to help people. And the state has no role in deciding this for individual and hence society.
I think this is enough for now, but I’ve been discussing the role of the media in the light of these things - especially with the democratic nominations going on. In a few days I’ll try to explain the mechanics of the these elections seen through the lenses of the microcosms that constitute the american dream and society.
End of part one.
One can read books, write essays, theorize of justice, love or even hatred before visiting - hell it can be done without ever visiting. I seek to judge people by their own standards and not my own, which obviously not objective as my interpretation will always be there. But it is, again in my opinion the best way to understand.
That is what made this journey so fascinating. The US is a country towards which we all have feelings, both good and bad - but with the amount of TV,music, movies, food and whatever you can get, that we’re receiving from the US it is impossible not to feel. And this was (and is) a strong motivational force behind this journey: the attempt to talk to americans.
No agenda in dialogue, no pre(mis)conception as to why people do what they do. Only the perception of what they are doing. By following and listening to the sounds, watching the everyday motions or just experiencing the horizons of the american scenery. The common perceptions of the american individual is that of a strong willed, self centered individual who cares only for himself and his family.
No question about it - this is the place to be if you want to be yourself. This is the country of self expression and individuality, especially compared to Europe.
They’re every bit as social as anything I’ve ever seen. The prejudice/expectation of the society as an almost anti-social place has no place in the real world. I do however have to reemphasize the focus of the query - a query that was never aimed to be scientific, but more that of letting the natives themselves explain to me through their own words what they saw and felt.
By just hanging out with people in the circles they normally fare in, we have been welcomed as guests, and have experienced unlimited hospitality and a enthusiasm for our project that - at least the strength of it - was unexpected.
So what have I found?
I have found communities based on values. America is still big enough to house people of almost opposite opinions. It differs frm Europe in the sense that we - in our seperate countries - are forced to live by values that not all of us agree with. We endure this because we have no choice; there is basically nowhere we can go if we disagree. That possibility still exists in the US - at least geographically. We have had the pleasure of christian hospitality several places. It has not been the christianity so often depicted in the media - the condemning one of the pastor Fred Phelps and his family.
It has been the hospitality of people who believe in not only the values of the bible, but also the word. The reason to emphasize the values are simple: we have also had the pleasure of visiting the ‘not-so-religious’, even atheists. In those circles the hospitality has been the same. The values of treating each other with respect - although disagreeing (through dialogue) - stands just as strong in these communities.
Every community we have visited seems as a tight knit group of individuals who share not only the same values, but also the same beliefs. And the beliefs are the issue when trying to grasp the american dream: at the foundation of all this lies the innate belief that every man gets to decide for himself. And once he has decided he can voice out his beliefs amongst equals, and usually he’ll end up amongst people who not only share his values but also his beliefs.
These groups of people - be they a town or even a parish in the suburbs of a midsized town - stick together and help each other. They are a close knit group coexisting through not only the same values, but also through the same beliefs - be it the Bible, Torah or Darwin’s thoughts on evolution that create the foundation. Within these small conclaves they find the security that entire nations in Europe so desperately seek.
But even though their beliefs are often expressed in the same way, they always differ on other points. There is always something that will keep them from joining up, always something that makes it utterly impossible to live in harmony. Luckily the country is big enough to keep different factions far from each other.
A point could be made that this is not a country - especially in Europe, the role of the state is viewed in a totally different view. Helping in the US seems to be the role of society, not the state. The society in which you reside will keep you afloat. The people with whom you share a core of beliefs will help you in the way that you and they agree upon. Different groups have different ways of helping, but they will help.
In Europe, the role of the state is seen as much more. It is - one could argue - much more invasive. It will tell its citizens what is the right thing to do - how to help. This in turns sounds insane to the average american: they would agree that you always help the people you know who need it, but certainly you cannot be held responsible for someone to who you have no ties.
The issue as such isn’t with helping or solidarity within the different microcosms that constitute the societies - it’s the fact that they totally, utterly disagree on how to help people. And the state has no role in deciding this for individual and hence society.
I think this is enough for now, but I’ve been discussing the role of the media in the light of these things - especially with the democratic nominations going on. In a few days I’ll try to explain the mechanics of the these elections seen through the lenses of the microcosms that constitute the american dream and society.
End of part one.
|