Cultural Change

I have to admit that the inspiration for this post came after reading Gen's post over at the JustSalvos blog.

Twice in the last week I have seen people wearing a 'uniform' for a cultural event. At Sensation (a dance party at Telstradome on NYE) there was some 40,000 people all dressed in white dancing the night away. Today at the SCG was Jane McGrath day, with everyone encouraged to wear pink to support the McGrath Foundation in the fight against Breast cancer.

Gen in her post talks about the ability of Disneyland to 'create a culture', a culture where people don't litter and everyone enjoys themselves. She talked about the ability of culture to shape behaviour.

I on the other hand want to reflect on how culture takes shape. All culture is fluid. From now on the third day of the Sydney Test will be Jane McGrath day and everyone will be encouraged to wear pink. That cultural event is shaped by the tragic loss of a cricketer's wife. A negative event has been transformed into a day to raise awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer. The fact that Jane McGrath was married to one of Australia's most famous sports person helped her death, as opposed to any other person's battle with cancer, to create a cultural change.

Viral marketing is a form of cultural change. It aims to spread a message like a virus. Word of mouth, create a buzz. When I read the New Testament I see a viral marketing campaign of sorts. There was a message that was spread. It was an alternate culture, but yet was culturally relevant and culturally engaged. I don't think the same can be said of the church today.

How do you want to make a difference in our culture?

What I read today:

Binge culture curses 'lost generation'

Pulp Mill decision a 'dark day for Tasmania'

Questions

Melissa in her comment on my previous post brought up the issue of questioning. I think that a question is perhaps the most powerful tool on this earth.

William Wilberforce asked the question "is it right for human beings to be enslaved by another human?"

Martin Luther King Jnr asked the question "why is my son judged by the colour of his skin and not the content of his character?"

I could go on but I think you get the picture. Questioning of the status quo is what is required to find new directions and challenge stale assumptions. But a question is not always negative. Ask someone what they love about their spouse and you are sure to get a string of positive traits. The question can assist in pointing out the positive in a situation.

Questions can bring us closer to those around us. "How do I fix this broken wheel on my rubbish bin?" There is a level of vulnerability and humility in a question that empowers the person asked to respond.

For me the most influential question that I can remember from a faith perspective was being asked to respond to an article entitled, "Was Jesus gay?" I had to think through my thoughts on homosexuality but more importantly I had to ask some big questions about who I believe Jesus was as a human being. Most Christians I know would shake their head and tut tut at the question, some would even consider it blasphemous. I on the other hand remember fondly the challenge of that specific question on my faith journey. It challenged my assumptions and beliefs. But you know what, they survived. Not only that, they were also strengthened by the asking of a hard question.

What hard questions have you grappled with?

What I read today:

Tim Costello talks about Paris Hilton and the Celebrity syndrom in this article.

Free to Air Networks not serious about multiple channels

Cynicism

I was reading a really interesting article today by Jeffrey Sachs, an economist I admire. His article talks about the need to recognise the positive work of governments in combating poverty in our world. He suggests it is too easy to get disheartened by the negative news in our world. He states that,

"The point is not merely to make ourselves feel a little better, but rather to confront one of the world’s gravest threats: the widespread pessimism that today’s problems are too big to be solved. Studying the successes gives us the knowledge and confidence to step up our shared efforts to solve today’s great global challenges."

I am prone to cynicism. Even when Sachs' suggests that Australia's and Kevin Rudd's leadership on climate change I found myself scoffing at the weakness of the action. But then I was forced to stop and consider the enormity of the achievement in such a short space of time. I have been joking over the last few weeks that "under Howard we didn't have a climate change problem" (which I did nick from Good News Week). So I think we should stop and look at the positives, even if there is room for improvement.

I think that the questioning of motives and assumptions that lies at the heart of modern cynicism (rather than classical cynicism) is a healthy and needed role. Cynicism combined with pessimism is a toxic mix that is unhealthy for everybody.

I would be interested to hear when a questioning of peoples motives and/or assumptions has been a positive experience for you? I would also be interested to hear when cynicism has been a negative experience.

What I read today:

Character Test

Top Twitter tools for 2009

Perception

We all have perceptions, good or bad, about the world around us.

If you ask a non-sports fan their perception of cricket fans they would probably say old and boring, just like the game. If you asked the same person their perception of 'soccer' fans, they would probably answer hooligan. The Age had an interesting article about this very situation today. Of course more fans were ejected from the cricket than were ejected from the football last night.

The important question is how much we let our perceptions define our actions. If I have a perception that all people from a certain country will act in a certain way I am guilty of a gross generalisation. If I let that perception prevent me from interacting with those people then even worse for me because I lose the chance to meet some amazing people.

What about when we hold perceptions of a whole community. Lots of people have a variety of perceptions of Footscray. Those who aren't from around here usually have negative perceptions. Negative perceptions may have some basis in truth, but are usually at best an exaggeration and at worse an outright fallacy.

I think that a person's perception of God is the biggest determinant of their faith position. If God is perceived as a judgemental guy in the sky then faith is based on following the rules. If God is perceived as a watch maker, who created the world and then let it go, then he is irrelevant in day to day life. If God is perceived as interested in the poor then all our responsibility is to help them out.

Last night I made a comment that brought sharp focus to a perception that I really needed to change, even though the situation reiterated the perception.