The Need for Greater Cultural Literacy
September 30, 2001


Tragic Events of September 11
A History of Cultural Conflict
Origins Close to Home
Greater Cultural Literacy
In the Face of Tragedy



September 11, 2001
On September 11, we all experienced a tragedy that ranks among the worst in United States history.

Texas is no stranger to tragic events. The Great Storm of 1900 didn't come with a proper name, rating or much advance warning, but it was said to be angry and mighty. On September 8 and 9, at the dawn of the Twentieth Century, 6,000 to 10,000 people died and 3,600 homes were lost in the storm surge that swept over Galveston Island. We now name and track storms, and prepare for their landing on our shores.

In 1937, a natural gas explosion in a New London, Texas school killed 280 children and 14 teachers. As a result, sulfur odor is introduced into natural gas to make it detectable. Uncontrolled fires and explosions on April 16 and 17, 1947 devastated Texas City in the nation's worst industrial disaster. 576 died, 5,000 were injured and over 3,300 homes were destroyed.

Many technological developments and warning systems have diminished the potential loss of life, as well as property, in future natural and industrial disasters. But modern times have brought us other modern perils. The explosive force of ammonium nitrate, which was unleashed on Texas City in 1947 by accident and carelessness, was unleashed with malice on Oklahoma City in 1995. With each sad new development we lose more innocence, but our collective memory is short. Only a few decades ago, Americans could have never imagined we would rely on x-ray machines and metal detectors to test the safety of kids' Halloween candy.

Our modern technology, which allows us to travel and communicate faster, has brought the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center closer to us all. Ironically, instantaneous transcontinental and global communication can turn shocking acts into effective weapons. With all of our advancements, the alarming rise of man-made, calculated violence seems far outside of our technological grasp. The bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, and the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996 stem from religious, political and ultimately cultural conflicts.

Preventing hate-generated violence presents the ultimate problem of reading the human mind. Terroristic attacks are generally unprovoked by the victims, though the targets are often symbolic. Symbols, such as the Statue of Liberty, may seem as obvious as those struck on September 11, but Americans now fear their humble pastimes, baseball games and awards programs, could be targets. However frivolous, much of our entertainment is a strong economic and motivational force promoted through mass media. The personal interests of Americans are cultivated and marketed nationwide, creating national symbols from mere leisure activities and products purchased en masse. As a result, many Americans face scrutiny and invasive technology as they attend events and board airplanes. The threat of additional acts of terror causes paranoid citizens to stockpile supplies and study methods to prevent or survive terrorism. Patriotic emotions and demand for action are widespread in tense times. Some Americans inevitably turn to arming themselves, preparing for conflict where there should be none in their modern lives.


A History of Cultural Conflict
Ours is an extensive history of conflict that includes slavery, genocide of American Indians, persecution of Mexican-Americans and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Through education and interaction, we have set into motion a gradual process, highlighted by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and decreases in crimes against Asian- and Mexican-Americans in recent decades, that has helped bring security and improved quality of life to many Americans. Our social, political and judicial processes have brought about nearly acceptable conditions for diverse cultures to coexist in our country.

The recent attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon using hijacked civilian airplanes is the most devastating single incident of cultural conflict in our nation's history. Americans overwhelmingly agree the attack was cruel and unjust, and most expect retribution to quell their anger.

The aftermath of the attack may bring many new problems to our country -- intolerance, violence or despair. Americans may look to technology to identify terrorists and prevent future acts of terror, but we must strive for improved cultural literacy to prevent unwarranted persecution and violence against innocent people. Whatever our government's course of action, citizens' opinions, which are currently closely unified, will again diverge. Through the campaign against terrorism, conflicts may arise among groups that presently agree on the dire and inexcusable nature of the initial offense. Many will not understand the resentment of Americans that is prominent in some Islamic countries, especially as sympathy and unity with Americans has increased in many other nations. Those concerned with human rights may be alarmed at the conditions refugees face in Afghanistan, or other war-torn countries, while others may feel driven to vengeance at any cost. Through extensive media coverage, we may witness the misery and hopelessness of innocent victims of sanctions or an armed offensive, or even continued civil war in divisive regions.

Some Americans are not even aware of the proclaimed motives of radical organizations that provoke conflict with the United States. Meanwhile, many Americans, as well as Europeans, have demonstrated escalating disdain concerning the effects of economic globalization on poorer nations. These issues, cultural, religious and economic, are not difficult to understand, but they are not among the concerns of most Americans.

The lack of cultural understanding is no more evident than on the popular MTV series Road Rules, where cameras recently followed a young female participant wearing shorts through the streets in Morocco, as she was symbolically stoned by residents throwing small pebbles. MTV viewers heard the woman candidly expressing her anger at Moroccan society for not yielding to her American lifestyle. In great irony, MTV may be delivering the most balanced perspective on the situation through its MTV News segments, as it must deliver information to a skeptical, inexperienced and potentially volatile audience.

The United States is a major force in the world that can be both magnetic and polarizing. Our foreign activity ranges from concerns for human rights, such as our efforts through the United Nations to protect Muslims and diverse ethnic groups against hate in Eastern Europe, to national corporate and consumer interests in oil-producing nations. Our consumers are not well educated; They do not lead in determining the nation's needs and dependencies. There are many blatant examples over the past two centuries of our consumer nation, under the business direction of powerful industrialists, like William Randolph Hearst and Cornelius Vanderbilt, naively taking the road of convenience over the road to economic balance. While tremendous economic disparity characterized the rifts between cultures in our nation's history, it is now a major problem in our small world, where our actions affect others minute by minute and our consumer lifestyle is televised and flaunted throughout much of the world to provide entertainment and derive increased profits for multinational corporations. We can look inside our homes and to our neighbors for an explanation to many of our problems.


Origins Close to Home
Some of the reasons people in other countries dislike the United States can be found here in the United States, while others stem directly from our presence abroad. While many Americans are content to enjoy the material wealth and lavish lifestyles of many of our celebrities, others around the world find the images of American stars in magazines and on television offensive, especially where religious values are polarized and our military has been involved.

I was recently asked to be part of an important dialogue on the condition of indigenous people, and those not represented by wealth or political voice, in the Americas. Much of the outside world seemed irrelevant to the subject prior to the events of September 11. My topic was to be the "Gray-eyed Man of Destiny," and I was urged not to discuss the subject in advance of the presentation. It occurred to me that it would be difficult to discuss it with anyone, as few Americans know the exploits of the "Gray-eyed Man," Captain William Walker, the filibuster and imperialist who adversely affected our relationship with Latin America for more than a century after his execution in Honduras. [ Learn more about William Walker (to be posted soon) ]

American luxuries are not free of consequences for other people. There have been movements in the past to question the working conditions of people who produce our goods, and the poverty and violence they may face. These problems not only exist far away across the Pacific, but also in our neighboring countries and states. The haunting voice of Holly Near, as she sings "There is a Woman Missing," informs us of the names of women lost to violence in South America. Now add to that list the names of hundreds of women killed or missing in Juarez, our neighbor near El Paso. American companies that lure workers from Mexico and Central America to factories in Juarez have done little to provide for the workers' safety. They say they are there to make profits and that it is the government's responsibility to provide safety.

Business success is very simply the ability to create an imbalance, to take in more than you hand out, to make profit. The more profitable a business, the more likely it is to be able to aggressively reach farther and wider into distant communities. Productivity is said to have made our nation economically strong, but we foster conditions for an escalating rich and a constant poor. With so many companies successfully taking in more than they share, would anyone expect it to be any other way?

The obvious friction felt by those who can most easily recognize the economic divide is not the single cause of cultural conflict. The desire to profit from new markets brings us to places with extreme cultural differences. There is a tendency for those who stand to profit from business operations in diverse communities to consider their prerogative higher than the value system of local and foreign cultures.

Our justification for the ability of our richest executives and corporations to accumulate so much wealth is the notion that everyone has the opportunity to do the same. This belief assumes that there are no cultural factors involved, that each of us originate from a cultural and educational background that is level. The histories of different cultures in the United States have not allowed diverse groups to take the same approach to interaction with other communities. From the origin of the nation, people have had different experiences in their historic roles in America, including: coming here as captives to produce goods for others; to seek religious or political freedom; to escape poverty in their homeland, to live the "American dream" of two cars and a successful business; and, even being forced to leave their homeland to live elsewhere on a reservation. Even as time fades our memory of the worst conditions people have faced in our country, there are extraneous factors in the willingness or unwillingness to promote new economic values over old traditional values. For some, those old traditions seem to be the only hope we have to preserve honor and integrity in the world we live in.

Americans should have the opportunity to visit Zuni and Wounded Knee to better understand our history. We often do not recognize the importance of the natural environment in the religion and culture of many Native people, inhibiting their ability to teach heritage and pride in their culture to new generations. In history, many Americans not only accepted that the minerals and fossil fuels should be used to support our aggressive market culture, but that it was necessary to change American Indians' lifeways by killing buffalo and guarding water resources. We also attempted to homogenize their cultures by eradicating their languages, eliminating customary appearances and offering refuge in Western religions. Our cultural and economic interaction on Native land is often preserved on ominous signs, such as those warning of uranium contamination in English, Spanish and Navajo. Cultural infringement is often the result of our economic priorities and blind consumerism, here and abroad.

Consumers do not recognize methods to support acceptable interaction and economic ties that do not drain the resources of a local economy, such as a reservation or isolated rural community. Rather, we create economic imbalance and let many go hungry or provide them with poor nutritional food sources through government programs and relief efforts. As consumers, we expect cultures to readily assimilate to our far-reaching economic system, or remain left out of our prosperity.

Economic indicators are deeply ingrained in our daily living. This was most evident in the days following the September 11 attacks, when political leaders became concerned that the shock and sadness the nation was feeling would devastate our economy. Americans were urged to "get back to the business of America" and to "go on with the business of our lives," so the terrorists would not be victorious. This raises the question: Is victory over America achieved by devastating our elite markets and curbing profits for our richest businesses? Those who win or lose the most in our hyperextensive marketplace have the loudest voice, but it would be impossible to deny the vast cultural and social achievements of ordinary Americans.


Greater Cultural Literacy
History has shown us that, as a nation, we don't have a good sense of cultural sovereignty for others. Our own culture is in a constant state of redevelopment based on media and market trends. We have made advancements in our society that a vast majority agree are positive changes. Most obvious are greater equality for our diverse population and equal rights for women, though these advancements may be by-products of our aggressive market culture more than our intellectualism.

Cultural differences, such as religious prioritization and interpretation, and the status of women (where they may be required to be subservient or passive), are issues most Americans can not readily identify with. Separation of church and state has ensured that individual and personal rights can be developed and protected, while diverse religions thrive, in the United States. Contrast that with recent official actions in Afghanistan, the nation we seem to be destine for conflict with. The ruling Taliban, within the previous year, ordered the destruction of ancient religious monuments and icons not approved by the Islamic fundamentalist government. Muslims in many other nations, however, may chose to visit other religious monuments to learn about different cultures and appreciate worldly art without infidelity. On the other hand, several Middle Eastern countries do not allow public entertainment or creative displays of any kind.

Cultural literacy is dependent on clear and broad understanding of history, particularly history from multicultural perspectives. There has never been a more important time in our history to become a culturally-literate nation. And, there have never been more opportunities to do so. As our nation diversifies, cultures and religions are interested in finding new audiences for the preservation of their heritage and are widely accepted in public venues, where they are demonstrating their creative arts -- their talent and belief in creating and expressing interest in life, rather than destruction.

The vast wealth of cultural art available to us is our greatest opportunity for learning and experiencing a good quality of life. There is such profound meaning and realization in so many great creations that they seem to be the very reason we have life and energy: Satyajit Ray's film, "Two Daughters" ("Teen Kanya"); James Earle Fraser's sculpture, "The End of the Trail"; Talip Ozkan's recording, "The Dark Fire"; Dorthea Lange's photograph, "Migrant Mother"; Willa Cather's book, "Death Comes for the Archbishop"; Maria Tallchief's performance, "Firebird"; Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem, "Dog"; Carlos Riquelme's dramatic role, Amarante in "Milagro Beanfield War"; and so on.


In the Face of Tragedy
Americans faced a powerful question on September 11 -- What to do? They asked, Should I go to work?; Should I go to class?; Should I go to church?; Should I watch TV, go to a movie or concert? Should I go to a kids baseball game, or a birthday party? Due to the immense magnitude of the tragedy, Americans faced these same questions over many days following the attack.

Much of the world faced similar questions. This was an eye-opening incident for most modern nations. As well, many nations lost citizens who were aboard the four hijacked airplanes and in the World Trade Center on September 11.

Celebrations associated with Fiestas Patrias and Diez y Seis de Septiembre (September 16), including the Saturday parade in downtown Houston, were canceled. Mexican President Vicente Fox asked that people throughout our hemisphere recognize the immense tragedy in the United States by yielding the celebration of Mexico's Independence. It was not difficult for adults to understand that celebrations were inappropriate at that time. But for children it is disturbing to repeatedly see the incidents on television and for normal activity to come to a halt.

Following the September 11 attacks, and following any future tragedies (which we hope to never experience again), it is important to move forward with beneficial activities -- those things which make our lives better, including education, charitable work, positive cultural experiences and safe, productive activities for children.

If the events of September 11 have forced us to look at life differently, we should look at it with greater interest and conviction. We have seen many signs of rising violence, and even more subtle signs of human hardship. If we are to face more strife in the future, we should do it with a better understanding and respect for many cultures that share our love of life and creative energy.

Edward James Olmos recently said, "There is only one race -- the Human Race. Within it there are many cultures." When you think about the value interaction with people of different cultures brings to your life, you can see that you would be left with little interest in life without it.


The Need for Greater Cultural Literacy, Expanded Version, from our September 28 e-culture newsletter. Send comments to views@houstonculture.org.


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M A R K   L A C Y / mark@cultural-crossroads.com


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