Just an Ethnocentric State of Mind
Many times I get the feeling the United States has a problem with ethnocentrism. We kind of make this obvious with all our talk about American being the greatest country in the world. How did we get this way? Well, I have two ideas on why we are like this. I’m sure there are many more but I will just focus on a couple reasons right now. One, is we are taught from the time we are little we are the greatest country in the world by focusing mainly just on America and its history in our schooling before college. Two, we have a nice way of dressing up our history as if horrific acts never happened.
The other day after class I was talking with three fellow Fuller students about what we were taught in school (before college) about different countries and their history. I find it very interesting that two of us (both from the U.S.) were taught very little about other countries. The other Fuller students (both from Norway) were amazed to hear this. They both were taught many things about other countries besides their own. They learned about other countries’ history, culture, politics, economics and so on. One of the Norway students told me her final oral exam was on the colonialization of Africa. This is not the only conversation I have had with international students about this. My friend from Norway sent me this image:
To some this may not seem like a problem but to me I think it ingrains in us Americans to focus only on ourselves. I think that’s why we believe it’s alright for America, around 6% of the world’s population, to consume over 40% of the world’s resources. I don’t think this is alright.
Not only do we not think about other countries but we cover up the bad in the history of ours. We as foreigners came to American and took away the land from the Native Americans. In the book American Cultural Studies, Neil Campbell and Alasdair Kean have this to say, “White Americans in positions of cultural power defined Native Americans as racially inferior, savage, child-like, and in need of radical readjustment to the ‘better’ life of the dominate culture.” From the very beginning the people that rightfully owned the land were considered inferior to us and worse things than being thought of as inferior were done to these Native Americans. I know I wasn’t really taught this point of view, I was taught that our ancestors were heroes.
It wasn’t taught in high school about how despicable a man Christopher Columbus was either. Columbus had this to say in his journal on December 16th about the Native Americans, “They have no weapons and are all naked without any skill in arms and are very cowardly so that a thousand would not challenge three… Thus they are useful to be commanded and to be made to labor and sow and to do everything else of which there is need and build towns and be taught to wear clothes and learn our customs.” Even though we have had his journal for some time, I had to find this out on my own, not through the American education system. We may not have learned about the bad things he had done but we sure did give him a holiday to celebrate his discovery.
The sad thing is that many Americans still have no clue about these things. It’s funny, we call America a Christian nation but we sure don’t act like it. I think American needs to start taking Proverbs 16:18 a little bit more seriously, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I think we need to repent for our sins of pride and lies.
Maybe you guys/gals have had a different American education than I had but everyone I have talked to is in the same ethnocentric boat as me. What do you think?
P.S.- Why are we North Americans called “Americans” and South Americans are not? Is it because they’re inferior and only we deserve this title? I had a conversation about this once with my Venezuelan friend. He wondered the same thing.
Tags: Alasdair Kean, American Cultural Studies, American Education System, Bible, Christopher Columbus, ethnocentrism, Native Americans, Neil Campbell
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November 4, 2008 at 3:33 am
These are good thoughts that I often thing about as well.
I wonder, what would happen if we, as a country, ditched our denial, owned up to our errors, and sought the forgiveness of God and the rest of the world. What would the world think of us then? Would they get a glimpse of Jesus in that humility?
This doesn’t have to be stated but…I wish we lived in an ideal world. I can’t wait until we do.
November 4, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I remember reading Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States in my AP American History class my senior year of high school and being blown away. It was tantamount to being 10 years old again and finding out that my parents had been lying to me for years about the existence of Santa Claus. I find it telling that we read Zinn’s book in AP class, and as far as I know, my colleagues in the regular classes stuck to more traditional text books. The assumption is that the really smart kids might be able to handle a more critical version of our nation’s history, but the masses should probably just stick to the track.
It seems to me that there is a gigantic difference between the story of our nation we receive as children and young adults, and the inevitable, more authentic version of our history we eventually encounter. This kind of indoctrinated patriotism, I think, is not unique to America – BUT, I think what it should remind us as Christians, more than anything, is that the United States is not exceptional, at least in terms of it’s call from God to bring freedom to the nations. America has its hands every bit as dirty as any other earthly nation, its just as selfish, concerned with power, and worldly as any other society in the history of the world.
I think what a dirty history of the United States should show us is that our citizenship to America is not synonymous with our true citizenship to the kingdom of God. It is out of this citizenship that we should work, serve, live, and even repent. It is this citizenship, and this kingdom that we should promote and cheifly concern ourselves with its welfare.
November 5, 2008 at 4:52 am
It’s something to dream about Mikey, but I don’t see it ever happening. I just heard John McCain concede to Barak Obama on NBC. He made sure to say America is the greatest country in the world before he was done. I think the pride and lies will always be a part of our country.
November 5, 2008 at 4:59 am
Cretts,
I know you’re right, but it’s really hard watching our country do horrible things and not fess up to them. I do know that I need to focus on my real citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Thanks for reminding me. The only person that I can really expect to repent is myself.
November 7, 2008 at 9:58 pm
It’s amazing the pride we’re taught to develop. In first grade we daily sang a song declaring my hometown the “grandest city in the USA”. Lubbock, Texas? Please! Then there’s Texas, a place so obsessed with Texas we’re surprised when we leave the state to find that others aren’t as well. Finally there’s our nation’s hymnbook, full of pride and so self-congratulatory.
When I moved from Texas, I saw the pride and felt gross in my own “clothes”. When I’ve left the country for missions I’ve felt slimy in my own ethnocentric attitudes. I’m working on dropping love for country for love for the kingdom of God, and I wouldn’t mind being accused of a kingdom-centric attitude.
November 11, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I hear you Man, I’m reading The Gospel According to America right now and hearing David Dark talk about what went through his mind when a German person asked him what Americans thought about Germany and his only thoughts were, “We don’t.” Man, it kills me how we think the rest of the world is below us, if we decide to think about them at all. Anyways, I would like to be accused of a kingdom-centric attitude too.