It seems to me that much "theory" (which can be less theory than doctrine - see Myers' writing on this; also see), to which I would add more recent theory, lacks full consideration of consequences. There is plenty of literature (the roots of which now decades old) that argue against "nation" as a construct. Empirically, there is indeed evidence of a back and forth (and other directional) exchange of ideas and ways of being among 'nations' today. It is argued that nationhood is a bunk concept. National symbols, in intercultural literature, are often presented as essentialist propaganda. Nationhood is argued as an outmoded concept to be "disrupted" for the betterment of an international flow of economics and ideas, or at least acknowledgement that this flow moves outside of older geographical patterns.
This is related to the problem of multiculturalism. A glance at my blog reveals a little bit of different cultures, but in my case, I actually lived in these places for years, have (or more accurately today, had) competence in the languages; have family members representative of these cultures. People like me are not uncommon today, and related labels have been coined, such as "third culture kid". I am explicitly making this disclaimer, because I have observed a superficial multiculturalism, or even careless cultural appropriation (see Root's book Cannibal Culture). I see people who praise themselves for their cultural awareness, but already from the point of view of hubris, this is problematic. What I prefer to call interculturalism is hard and often uncomfortable. It is also something that is very difficult to explain to people who have not been exposed to different cultures. Perhaps it can be compared to the idea of growing another set of eyes.
Not quite like this but similar is when you have a friend in palliative care, and on your runs you look for beautiful things to take pictures of to send: an extra awareness of surroundings can be gained, and once obvious things have been photographed, you begin to notice increasing subtleties, like how light itself can create beauty as it falls on or through segments of nature; how the wind causes foliage to drape like the expensive gowns of yesteryear. Awareness of another's being can call into relevance and sight more than what one had before. This can be explained by hermeneutics.
My favorite book on the topic of cultural 'knowing' continues to be Kristeva's Etrangers à nous-mêmes, because it ultimately brings the difficult point down to our virtue and responsibilities as individuals. This is different from the euphoric individualism that celebrates every last detail of the separation of person into their own unit. Rather, it draws from οἰκείωσις, the Stoic theory of appropriation which sees individuals as part of a greater whole.
This has been my experience of cultural exchange. I will never forget a childhood experience of being given a shell necklace in Thailand (this was back in the day when fair-skinned people were a sight to be beheld there; we got to these places because my mother spoke Thai) and feeling so inadequate at only having the little trinkets my mother had us bring; this act of giving what one has has stayed with me, and something I have looked to do myself, though any introductory class in anthropology will cover just how problematic giving is. Diseased blankets is only one example.
The model I try to follow is one of respect and listening to others.
In American history, the right to due process has played a very important part. I mention it here because of its role in listening.
But speaking of law, I read (via) an interesting Gibbon quote today that sums up quite well the practical difficulties of multiculturalism:
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter XXVI:Or consider the difficulties of achieving equality: would we be able to afford our laptops? Difficult questions arise.
As long as the same passions and interests subsist among mankind, the questions of war and peace, of justice and policy, which were debated in the councils of antiquity, will frequently present themselves as the subject of modern deliberation. But the most experienced statesman of Europe has never been summoned to consider the propriety or the danger of admitting or rejecting an innumerable multitude of Barbarians, who are driven by despair and hunger to solicit a settlement on the territories of a civilised nation.
To everything I write, I can hear people slapping potential labels on me. But I have rarely been content with labels.There are other ways of defining and looking at these matters.
I am keeping that for the book.
And I definitely have my biases, models I respect and wish to cultivate.
As a cliffhanger, I will note the existence of an early American text drawing on Varro in praise of agriculture and related virtues of thoroughness and patience. Lessons from the natural world. Lessons only had through exposure to nature.
To illustrate, because I run long, I often pass one of the natural springs at the outskirts of the city where I live. At first, I was puzzled by just how many people would go to fill up bottles at that spring. But over time, and through increasing heat, I filled up my handheld there with increasing frequency and noticed two things. First, the taste, which is so good. Second, the water clearly contains minerals - I not only did not miss any salt, but found the water 'more nourishing'. As a result, I think a lot about water on my runs. How up to 60 per cent of the human body is made of water. How even twenty years ago, I knew people worried about the depletion of water tables. Water is important. Are we preserving its sources?
The etymology of culture has roots in the cultivation of the earth. I think this is important. The word gained its figurative meaning referring to collective customs only recently (according to Etymonline; I have not looked into this in more detail and my memory is not cooperating as I write this post - I am still working on how and where I store things in my mind). The thesaurus ends with a beautiful quote by Yeats, which I think will provide a sufficient if not conclusive end to this post:
For without culture or holiness, which are always the gift of a very few, a man may renounce wealth or any other external thing, but he cannot renounce hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge. Culture is the sanctity of the intellect.
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