Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, my family continued on a tradition of buying a Christmas tree and decorating it along with the rest of the house for what has always been one of my favorite seasons. Accompanied by a variety of different artists on old cassettes and records, we nibbled at cheese and crackers and drank egg nog as we hung garlands and strung lights throughout the house. This day has been a constant for our family, even while we lived in Germany and moved back through difficult transitions, which is why I think I cling to the tradition and holiday so dearly despite my adult realization of the commercialism that steals away from the true meaning for the season. More to be said on that in another post. One thing I distinctly remember from these times was my dad's yearly ritual of listening to a Barbara Streisand record. Despite the whines about her prominent facial features and moans about her nasally voice that were thrown his way as he set the record on the player, my dad never lost his love for Barb and we always had to listen to that blasted record.
Fast forward to the present. I am a huge fan of musical theater and could perform, listen to, or watch any performance again and again - whether in the car, around the apartment, or on a stage. I have found a few pieces that have moved me throughout various points in my life and have also discovered that many of these pieces were written by the lyrical genius Stephen Sondheim - one being "Losing My Mind" and another "Send in the Clowns". A couple of days ago, feeling a bit melancholy myself, I decided to check on Youtube for a rendition of the latter, and found performances by incredible actresses, including Dame Judy Dench, a younger Glenn Close, Catherine Zeta Jones, and to my surprise, a very young Barbara Streisand. Immediately disregarding the last of these, I listened to the others in addition to an unknown young woman's rehearsal session with Sondheim himself in which he articulated his intentions behind each word and phrase (now that is was I LOVE about his music especially - so thoroughly thought through).
Now, I do not pretend to be any sort of expert in this area at all and I know some of these women have received numerous awards for their performances. But, I just was not satisfied with their performances. Enter Barbara's 1986 performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnwJ5KIcKX4. After listening to her emotive rendition, I couldn't help but press the replay button again and again.....And then I started clicking on other links of her performances, including "Don't Rain on My Parade", "Somewhere", and "Ave Maria". I think you can probably start to guess where I am going with all this now.
My dad will tease me endlessly when he discovers just how many of her performances I have listened to since then. But, whether it's the coming of age or simply this week in particular, I absolutely have come to appreciate...and probably even love her vocal tone and lyrical interpretations. I think this year I will be the one slipping the Streisand record on the player as we fill the house with the smell of pine.
Yesterday, my friend Kathy gave me a book that I'm extremely excited to begin: "Should We Burn Babar?" Written by a former professor at the University of San Francisco (which is right up the street from our apartment and is also where Dan and I have volunteered for InterVarsity over the past few years), this books is a collection of essays aimed at unveiling some of the subliminal messages that could be taken from children's books like "Curious George" and the Babar series. While I haven't even begun to read even the introduction, Kathy, my good friend Erin, and I began discussing the benefits and disadvantages that can arise from analyzing the underlying messages in books/media. The critical analysis of literature and media which can continue to promote sexism, racism, etc is definitely one of my passions - though, as we discussed, it can lead to an enormous amount of cynicism and disillusionment if allowed to go unchecked.
I was apprehensive when we began this discussion to be honest. While I love thinking about these issues, I can tend to be very abrasive, impatient, and overly passionate when discussing them with individuals who do not share my point of view or who I perceive as unwilling to challenge their point of view (though most often I have been admittedly unwilling to challenge my own). And let's just say that the last time I had a conversation about this topic, I just wanted to win the argument....which did not happen and in fact the whole altercation ended in a load of tears. So, I was apprehensive, but we jumped in.
I was glad to be reminded of the magnitude and weight of the Big Eight and to feel the helplessness that most feel when beginning to raise families and teach children about these issues. I was thankful to be reminded of how easy it is to become cynical and teach an unhealthy cynicism. So, what do we do then? I think bringing awareness to issues through curriculum and conversations at home are the key, but is talking enough? Is there really all that much we can do in our conversations with our children and students who are bombarded with media and books every day? Should we refuse to allow our children to watch TV and buy books like "Curious George", or should we simply ignore these issues and focus on the more physical needs we see around us- such as poverty and hunger? I understand these questions, especially when I consider a potential lifetime dedicated to bringing awareness to issues such as these, but not seeing any physical reflection from the work. What good does it really do if we are aware of these issues? Will companies be persuaded to produce items that are counter-cultural and revolutionary regardless of how much money they will lose in the process? Probably not. Will teaching my kid to question some of these issues, or to think critically about what they are taught, including popular renditions of our Nation's history (see "Lies My Teacher Told Me") lead to dramatic change? And, let's be blunt here...if I'm thinking of countering culture, is teaching critical thought about these issues worth the risk of my child's inevitable isolation at times?
This will seem random, but I promise to pull this paragraph in at the end. I have been thinking about the Kingdom of God throughout the past week, reading through Matthew as Dan and I prepare to leave for a retreat in Tahoe with our House church this weekend. Authors through InterVarsity Press have recently written books suggesting theories about the Kingdom of God and challenging both evangelistic and conservative points of view around the topic. Based on texts particularly from Matthew, the authors believe that the Kingdom of God is not something that we simply should be waiting for, focusing only on winning people over for Christ during our time on earth. But, that the Kingdom of God is something that Christ his disciples to begin bringing to earth, though ultimately He will be the one to completely redeem. This mentality is also reflected in Tim Keller's study "Gospel in Life" which we have been reading (and which I highly recommend). Based on texts in Revelations and Matthew, Keller suggests that when Christ comes again, He will not simply destroy ALL of earth. Instead, he will complete a perfect earth which he has been in the process of establishing through his people.
I share these thoughts because I think they have helped me put my passions for righting the wrongs of media and literature into perspective and certainly helped me glean so much more from my conversation with Kathy and Erin last night.
I think that all too often, Christians fall into the trap of thinking that Christ will redeem this world, so we have no obligations or responsibility to do anything other than simply wait for that glorious day - and yes, I do believe that it will be a glorious day. We go about our way, maybe intentionally pursuing relationships with others through which God can bring about his works, but forgetting about the issues of social justice that have continued to plague us throughout the years. People are fallible and filled with self-serving desires, we argue. Why should we waste our time fighting for issues that really can not be solved in several lifetimes? I definitely view this as a valid question. But, I do see hope and I do have hope in humanity.
For example, consider the issue of smoking. Fifty years ago (and really even as early as 20 years ago), smoking was accepted as a social norm and reigned in a lot of capitol. As health issues were uncovered, they were also disguised to the public by the companies and government that profited so greatly from the sales. But, some individuals were aware and brought this awareness to others, leading to a significant fight and suit of the tobacco industry for their decision to withhold this information, regardless of its horrific effects on others. Having just watched, "The Cove", you could point to this example as well - more from the humanitarian side of the issue in which children were being fed high mercury levels despite knowledge of its damaging effects. That is, until a group of citizens brought awareness to the community and took on the government (though even still, individuals in larger cities are unaware of this event).
My point in all this is not to reduce issues of race, class, or gender or to compare them with tobacco and mercury. I realize these issues are far more engrained in our culture and have resulted in an enormous amount of discrimination, confusion, and hurt. In addition, the oppressed in these situations did not sustain the history of oppression sustained by those not in our country's dominant culture. However, I am suggesting that these situations give me at least a glimmer of hope that we are capable of bringing awareness to issues and actually producing change as a result - and that even the people being taken advantage of are capable of turning the tide on industries that thrive on the perpetuation of the status quo.
On the other hand (and I am definitely prone to this), we can become self-righteous, thinking that we are capable of changing the world through our acts alone. We exhaust ourselves and negate the call to relationships as we become more and more entangled in the desire to bring about the change needed in the world. For me, this path ended in a pit of cynicism, from which I am continually emerging. After working at the Aspire Program in Cleveland, OH, I was bound and determined that I would dedicate my life to pursuing justice in education. But, as I returned to my predominantly white university and read about the magnitude and depth of these issues (while also witnessing them around me), I began to question everything and found the joy being sucked out of me as I felt more and more self-righteous about my new-found knowledge. On top of that, I had little tolerance for the people I perceived as so blissfully ignorant - not giving a damn about the realities of this world.
I have since (and only recently) begun to realize that while many are unaware of the issues that are prevalent in media and literature, that does not make me any more righteous. Not only that, but I alone do not have the ability to transform culture. Ultimately, I do believe this redemption of our seriously flawed systems must and can only be done by the gracious works of Christ.
So, a lot of rambling to bring me to this point: While Christ is the ultimate redeemer, I should and will continue to work toward the renewal of this earth. For me, that means addressing issues that arise through literature and media and bringing an awareness to my students and children. For my children, it is not enough to teach awareness of issues, but also to intentionally share the all-powerful Christ and his ability to use all of our works toward justice for his ideal world. This does not mean that we should forget about these issues, but rather, that we should work toward their redemption, remembering that He is the only one who can bring ultimate healing to this world wrought with struggles and injustice.
the creations for the shower (photos by Judy Kwak):
