culture - let's talk about it.

CULTURE!

All right, listen up.  

Culture is not an evil thing.  Culture is a beautiful thing, but that doesn't mean that it's completely a good thing either.  

For one thing, I absolutely HATE it when someone's response goes in either hateful direction - for example "I hate Haitian culture" or "I hate American culture."  

Every culture is good and bad.  Every culture has good components, but every culture is also sinful.  The only perfect culture is the culture of the kingdom of God, which we should be striving to live in every day, but that culture isn't particularly American or Haitian or Indian or adfhjnaelrjngian.  

A particularly sinful aspect of american culture is materialism.  We want things.  We covet things.  We always feel like we need more things, and we have this underlying belief that this stuff will make us happy.  And it's a part of me, too.  "Maybe if I could just find the right dress, I would feel beautiful."  "I would really enjoy driving around in a nicer car." etc.  How can I "need" a new backpack when people in places like this get to eat one meal a day on a good day?  I could go on and on about materialism, but I think most of you know what I mean.

So that's the kind of thing that makes Americans - upon arriving here and watching someone share what little they have very easily with others in need - come to hate their own culture.  Materialism is sinful, yes, but there are other things about american culture that are good (like freedom of speech and a general belief in certain human rights).  

So it's really important for us to recognize the good so that we can embrace it and recognize the bad so that we can do our best to throw it out.  Most of us are raised with these values all around us.  The only people who escape the materialistic nature of our culture are the Amish.  As we get older and come to understand these things, we can make decisions about who we want to be and how we want to live.  

Wherever we live, we should be working towards becoming a part of the culture of the kingdom of God.  

For instance, a problem that is prevalent here is the syncretism with Voodoo.  Most people here have a strong faith in God, but they also belief in a lot of voodoo superstition.  Certainly, the spirit realm is real, and it is good that the people here are more aware of it than we are in American.  But it is bad to live in fear of these things because God is way bigger and way better.  Also, it is bad to trust in these things - for healing or good fortune or whatever - because our trust should be in God alone.  Some of the expatriates here think that denouncing voodoo is being insulting to Haitian culture.  I completely disagree.  Yes, it is prevalent in the culture.  Everyone was raised surrounded by voodoo, just like we were surrounded by materialism.  That doesn't make it good, okay, or acceptable.  It is still wrong.  Culture is no excuse for the evil in our lives, and like I said before, it is up to each of us to piece together the culture of our own lives.

This is my life, and I'm who I want to be (or I'm getting there, anyhow).