Being an academic, I often find myself relating to moral and
ethical concepts as objects, detached from the kind of emotional tug I see
played out in media. I am used to explaining a range of positions, defending
them when my students need a strong point to analyze critically. These positions have little to do with what I
believe—just what they need to learn. In fact, this detachment has seemed to
creep, uncomfortably, into my uncertain center, igniting a profound curiosity
about what other people really believe. And I had this experience the other day
that got me thinking, and I want to know what my friends think about it—I don’t
want to propose anything, to defend anything, or argue anything—I just wonder
what my friends think about this. So, if
you have time to respond, I’d love to hear what you think...
One of my students is a recent immigrant from a Latin
American country. She is very smart,
accomplished, and friendly—the whole class enjoys her humor and the way she
cuts to the chase about most things. She is a proud Spanish speaker and has
engaged most of the class in speaking Spanish before class and during teamwork
and breaks. Her outgoing nature has
provided what seems like a rare opportunity for many of the non-native Spanish
speakers in the class to use their Spanish.
It is fun to hear them chatting and joking before (and sometimes during)
class in Spanish. In our discussions, she offers interesting points about her
own culture and how concepts are handled in her country. I have enjoyed her participation in the
class.
Last Monday after class she stopped to say goodbye, and I
reminded her that we weren’t going to have class that Wednesday, to which she
replied, “Really, who celebrates Thanksgiving? I mean, I bet the Indians don’t
celebrate Thanksgiving!” I mumbled
something about it being a national holiday and hundreds of thousands of people
celebrating it, to which she replied, “Well, I just don’t get it. It’s a White people holiday. Bye.” And she left. It was my first time
having my own culture considered insignificant.
And, honestly, it was a kick to the gut.
I’ve spent plenty of time thinking about Thanksgiving,
considering the myths and claims associated with its origin and purpose. I’ve
participated in a cultural celebration of plenty, of harvest, of thanks for
provision and for family every year of my life.
I’ve just never heard it dismissed so summarily as insignificant. And it made me think, well, isn’t that what
happens to all the celebrations that
are not traditionally of the dominant class? And I have participated in the
dominant culture of the US my entire life, so I’ve never seen it treated as
just another in a pool of many cultures.
And it made me wonder, is this the model of inclusion to
which our country aspires? Is a
country of equal cultures collected into one national space the kind of
equality to which the founding documents of the US logically lead? Does freedom
of religion, and thus culture, and equality of all people lead to a kind of
cultural mosaic in which no dominant culture puts the others at the margin? If
so, shouldn’t all our national
holidays be completely secular? Is
nationalism itself steeped in inequity?
I’m guessing that this all sounds so scary to me because I
have enjoyed the privilege of participating in the dominant race, class, and
religion of the US my whole life…maybe also because it shakes the foundations
of how our country has actually run these past centuries.
Well, unfinished as any writing inevitably feels, I’ll stop
here. I’d love to hear what you think
about this. Thanks!
