A Cultural Problem
I was sitting in a plane reading through the Oct. 8-14th edition of The Economist titled, "What Next? A special report on the world economy." It was refreshingly honest...and a little depressing. Though I expected reading through the economic implications of rising inflation, aging demographics and interest rates, a few things in particular caught my attention. When cultural nuance is understood, I pay attention.
"This is a cultural problem," says Dominique Nicky Fahrizal..." p. 41 with reference to the 131 people (including 33 children) who died at soccer game in Malang, Java.
"When Chinese diplomats portray their country as the victim of Western low blows, and promise to punch back, they are answering calls from Mr Xi to show "fighting spirit"....Tests of American strength began long before Mr Trump's election. His predecessor Barack Obama sought to work with China on such global challenges as climate change, and made a point of not condemning its political system. China did not reward him...In the paranoid, secretive world of elite Communist Party politics, foreign-policy swagger is intended to signal strength in domestic fights." p. 46 with reference to why China portrays the U.S. as a dirty boxer.
"..there are fundamental differences in negotiating culture that derive from a treaty providing for QMV [qualified-majority voting] and one requiring unanimity." p. 20 (Letters section) with reference to how compromises are sometimes non-compromises and circumventing unanimity.
Iran: A protest song rocks a theocracy p. 50 referencing a popular Iranian song that is "a cry for Iran to become a normal country."
"...politics is downstream of culture. Pop culture can be a vector of "soft power" - a country's ability to shape the preferences of others using attraction rather than coercion." p. 62, from article title: "How pop culture went multipolar."
Did you get that last part? It's really important. Philosophy is a cultural powerhouse. The high arts are cultural statements. The university is a cultural disseminator. Pop culture is a soft power. And all of it shapes the family kitchen table.
Our culture can either lead to deaths at a soccer game due to greed (they sold 4000 tickets over capacity) or police mismanagement (tear gas and batons) or it can lead to creativity, entrepreneurialism, and dialogue. Culture can cause us to please a dictator (Mr. Xi, Putin, or others) with shows of force. Or it can help us frame contexts for healthy systems and societies.
Because sin is an individual problem, it's also a cultural problem. No culture in the world is untouched by sin because people make up cultures. So if we want our culture to be better, if we want a better world, we should pay closer attention to our culture and which values and voices shape those values. The battleground of the future is about cities, states, and nations coalescing around values. And the differences will not only contrast, they will compete.
