I loved this article by John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune: Feel You Have No Real Culture? Join the Club. Of course, I’ve got culture. Even my husband from the hills of Tennessee has culture. But poor John is a really average white guy. What to do when your kid comes home needing to bring food from his heritage for an international classroom dinner? After writing about how you can’t judge a country or a people by a book, I like Keilman’s view of our extreme melting pot of culture in the U.S. resulting in a savory stew of cultures that we’re all eagerly devouring. Really, it’s becoming a global thing what with technology, the spread of information, and easy world travel. Just regarding my own culture, you don’t have to be Japanese to dress anime or eat sushi, and you don’t have to be American to sing country karaoke in English in a Ginza bar (as my husband found out on a business trip). Keilman says, “Culture constricts as much as it defines, and if we can blunt a few blood feuds with skinny jeans, then may Hot Topic spread to all the nations of the earth.” It’s nice to have “your” culture, but it’s also nice to share.
Linda Austin
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