One of the most interesting and eye opening things I learned in Africa were the many differences between our culture and that of other societies. To which you are probably thinking "Duh. Everyone knows that". But bear with me here. I contend that as Americans we give little thought to the culture of others. And that is because we automatically dismiss everyone out of hand as inferior to us. Before you get all up in arms with me for saying this, just think about something for a minute. As a nation we are taught that we are the best. That we are what everyone in the world aspires to be. That we are the greatest nation on the planet. Because we are thus taught, and most of us buy into these beliefs, we automatically think that our culture and values are superior. It's not a conscious thought, perhaps, but because we are such an ethnocentric nation, deep down, we think our values are just better than those of every other culture. The proof is the fact that everything is just so darn good here! I believe that those in the developing world aspire to America's level of prosperity and advancement. But they do not aspire to much else about our country. And what I would say to you is "rightly so". Allow me to elaborate......
At some point during one of our cultural sharing exchanges somebody asked our African friends (I think it might have been one of the SLAM leaders) if they thought that the Americans believe themselves to be better than them. Nearly every hand went up in agreement. I was shocked. Here we were- living in tents, working hard side by side with them, immersed in their culture, and yet we are still perceived as thinking of ourselves as superior somehow. My initial reaction was one of hurt feelings, and yet as I thought about it, I had to admit that they were mostly right. Deep down, we do think that we deserve better things, a better life, because as Americans, that is what we are used to. I thought of my own attitude towards the Cho. Disgusting. Gross. Just the worst thing ever. And yet, this is what everyone in Africa uses daily. They deal with it. Why was I having so much trouble? And don't think they don't know how we feel about it either. One day as we were walking thru the village a local yelled out at our group "How do you like the Cho?". It was a taunt. They know that we look down on them for this. I still hate the lack of decent plumbing in Africa. But what I hate even more is that in myself which makes me feel like I somehow deserve something better because of the accident of where I was born. Beware, dear friends, of going on mission trips and asking God to open the eyes of your heart. He will indeed do so. And you won't like some of what you see. Mostly about yourself and beliefs that you didn't even know you harbored.
I once read something someone wrote about how easy it is for Americans and Europeans to just dismiss all the repeated tragedies on the continent of Africa. The endless cycle of war, genocide, famine, drought, hunger, insurrection, terrorism, massive numbers dying from HIV/AIDS and the resultant orphaned children crisis. It is so common, so endless, so repetitive, that there is a temptation to just tune it all out and say "Well- that's Africa for you. Nothing ever changes there. What else can you expect from such uneducated people?". The same writer suggested that this would not be nearly so easy to do were it not for the fact that these were all brown skinned people enduring these hardships. If they were white, he contended, our attitude would be a whole lot different. He went on to say that the lives of blacks around the world are less valued than those of non-blacks. That there is less of a premium on them. That they are less valuable. I remember that I recoiled from these words when I read them. I thought "This guy is a jerk. That's not true.". Sadly, I think about those words now and can see that though it is painful to admit, they are in fact, true. Deep down, we in The West do value these lives less. The proof is the very fact that we turn away from their suffering and go back to watching "Jersey Shore" or "Dancing with the Stars". We'd rather distract ourselves into numbness. Consume our way out of any momentary pangs of conscience we might feel. We flip the channel quickly when we see the images of skeletal children with swarming flies around their faces. We are more comfortable looking at all those glittery gems on QVC than those sunken eyes staring out from nearly lifeless faces......
Discomfort is God's way of nudging us. My teacher/mentor has taught me that when I feel really uncomfortable, when I feel restless, when I feel unsettled about the struggles of this life, that this is God's hand moving across the waters of my soul. It's a signal to pay attention. That this is the place where He wants to meet me and remake me, remold me, reform me. If I have written anything here that unsettles you then I say "Good!". Pay attention. See what God wants to speak into that place where you feel uneasy. I have come to embrace feeling uncomfortable much of the time about the world we live in. I now understand it to be the nearness of God. I know that His work in me to "break my heart for the things that break His" is evidence of His great love for me. It is evidence of His great love for each of us..........Shalom!
That was I who asked if the Kenyans felt that we thought we were better then them. I felt 'superior' even asking the question although that was not how I meant it to sound. I, too, was embarrassed by their response of 'yes' and even more embarrassed by the difference in the level of poverty in Kenya and Uganda as compared with poverty level in the US. Not that I would wish that level of poverty to be in the US but rather that I wish the entire world would educate themselves and realize the difference between poverty in a 3rd world country and that of the US or Europe.
ReplyDelete