{"id":800,"date":"2007-09-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-09-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chisnell.www216-119-142-248.a2hosted.com\/chizblog\/?p=800"},"modified":"2017-08-09T05:07:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T05:07:16","slug":"cultural-claustrophobia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/cultural-claustrophobia\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Claustrophobia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI have to get out of the country,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t care where.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I understood.\u00a0\u00a0Sitting across from me at a small diner, my former student had been complaining about the shallowness of American culture.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, there was materialism; yes, there was political posturing; and yes, there was the dim-witted soap opera which seemed to dominate the lives of so many around us.\u00a0\u00a0But none of this is quite what we were struggling with.\u00a0No, it wasn\u2019t the disagreement with idea which tormented us, but the refusal\u2014even inability\u2014of some to acknowledge that a contrary idea existed.<\/p>\n<p>Mentally, emotionally, we felt boxed in.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that every culture and sub-culture defines its own ways of thinking, its own ideologies.\u00a0\u00a0The Buddhist seeks to avoid confrontation just as the Halo 2 player lusts for it.\u00a0But I believe that in some ways the American culture brazenly seeks to limit itself.\u00a0\u00a0In other words, our problem isn&#8217;t that we stubbornly hold onto an idea, but that our goal is to limit our own understanding.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/lindsay-lohan-wenn.jpg?resize=200%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/>We\u2019ll obsess over Lindsay Lohan\u2019s latest rehab stay instead of pervasive poverty;<\/li>\n<li>We\u2019ll seek amusement through the World of Warcraft rather than build genuine relationships;<\/li>\n<li>We\u2019ll dismiss Islam as inherently violent rather than ask serious questions about our media portrayal of it;<\/li>\n<li>We\u2019ll seek the best bargains at Wal-Mart and feel pride in our conquest rather than doubt about the reasons for it;<\/li>\n<li>And we\u2019ll complain that thinking about it takes too long, is too complicated, or is just too hard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m too busy to think about that right now,\u201d complains a friend of mine when I mentioned how she could recycle some of her plastics.\u00a0\u00a0And herein is a great lesson, I believe.\u00a0\u00a0Our culture is in the practice of keeping us pre-occupied, busy, speeding along on errands, in an accelerated effort to distract us from questioning it.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/escape.jpg?w=1080&#038;ssl=1\" \/>More, because we don\u2019t have time to think, our media quickens its pace in parallel.\u00a0\u00a0We are surrounded by sound bytes, fast-clipped video, and instant messaging masquerading as knowledge. As a result, solutions to heart disease are dark chocolate, and Iraq can be settled by merely putting troops in or troops out. We become a nation of simplification.<\/p>\n<p>We are a big open place, and American culture is fast spreading through the world.\u00a0\u00a0Just ask Disney, Coca-Cola, Exxon, or David Hasselhoff.\u00a0\u00a0Can we travel into the world without carrying along our blow dryers, iPods, and cruise ships?\u00a0\u00a0And can we talk about the world without holding our collective breath for the commercial break?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have to get out of the country,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t care where.\u201d\u00a0Mentally, we hold our breath, longing to out-wait the existential absurdity around us, but even the foothills of Himalayas are adorned with Baskin Robbins franchises\u00a0and Sly Stallone posters\u00a0(well, they are <em>a little<\/em>\u00a0behind).<\/p>\n<p>Is this really American ideology?\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s try something different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI have to get out of the country,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t care where.\u201d I understood.\u00a0\u00a0Sitting across from me at a small diner, my former student had been complaining about the shallowness of American culture.\u00a0\u00a0Yes, there was materialism; yes, there was political posturing; and yes, there was the dim-witted soap opera which seemed to dominate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[247,323],"tags":[324,325,326,327,328],"class_list":["post-800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chizblog","category-global-issues","tag-acceleration","tag-america","tag-globalization","tag-ideology","tag-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/mcworld.jpg?fit=448%2C304&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2133,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/selfie-schtick\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":0},"title":"Selfie Schtick","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2018 Jan 22","format":false,"excerpt":"Google\u2019s app highlights our civilization\u2019s artistic accomplishments, the most profound expressions and scholarship from the last 8000 years. We\u2019re using it for selfies.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/01\/chiz-art-selfie.jpg?fit=450%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1698,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/independence-day-education-and-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":1},"title":"Independence Day, Education, and Cuba","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2011 Jul 5","format":false,"excerpt":"Cuba: July 4, 2011 My US Independence Day amounted to five meetings on the education system of Cuba, four of them official. And to assemble the eight hours of information is not my mission here; however, I am sensing a timely trend I wish to share tonight. Our meeting with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/cuba2.jpg?fit=448%2C218&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2013,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/achieving-consummate-asshood\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":2},"title":"Achieving Consummate Asshood","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2017 Dec 27","format":false,"excerpt":"Teen Tribe appears to be more punishment of spoiled white privilege through hardship and isolation. Here, however, they are sent to live as different indigenous tribes do; in other words, their \u201cpunishment\u201d is to live the customary lives of the Other.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/12\/teentribe1-1.jpg?fit=600%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/12\/teentribe1-1.jpg?fit=600%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/12\/teentribe1-1.jpg?fit=600%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1761,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/real-junk-with-tsa\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":3},"title":"The Real Junk with the TSA","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2010 Nov 21","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, the talk of the country is whether or not the TSA goes too far with its airport scans. Airline pilots unions and others are calling for a\u00a0boycott\u00a0of the new enhanced visual imaging system, the 10-second body scan which renders a \"gray-scale\" version of the passenger's body. If it happens\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/08\/Screening_in_DTW_Airport.jpg?fit=504%2C379&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":786,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/on-the-devolution-of-the-fox\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":4},"title":"On the Devolution of the Fox","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2013 Oct 11","format":false,"excerpt":" I know how it is. We post pics of our niece's crayon art to Pinterest, frame a purchased poster of Edward Munch's\u00a0The Scream, and lament the loss of theimpending liquidation of the DIA. All the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/07\/hedgehog-wrecking-ball-video.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2219,"url":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/ghosts-of-writing-past\/","url_meta":{"origin":800,"position":5},"title":"Ghosts of Writing Past","author":"Steve Chisnell","date":"2019 Jan 19","format":false,"excerpt":"In some important sense, even in this political chaos, there must be an accountability for all composition.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ChizBlog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ChizBlog","link":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/category\/chizblog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/dickens-writing.jpg?fit=600%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/dickens-writing.jpg?fit=600%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/01\/dickens-writing.jpg?fit=600%2C420&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1597,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions\/1597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/chizblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}