ARTICLE: Indian Schools Help Students Connect With Their Culture: Tradition, Not Assimilation, A Growing Trend Across U.S., By Robert Gutsche Jr., Washington Post, November 23, 2006; Page A03People, especially journalists, always want to make everything binary, as in integration v. disintegration, tradition v. assimilation.
In the right political mix, which America approximates better than anybody, you always see plenty of both, especially when we're processing a high amount of recent immigrants.
As for this story, obviously tilted for the holidays, I see a lot to be grateful for: coming to America has never meant abandoning tradition. But it's always been a place that's proven the reality that tradition never stands still and is constantly remade by new generations (like the Chinese getting all jacked in China over Halloween and St. Valentine's Day.
Bottom line being: in an increasingly individualistic world, everyone's looking for any excuse for communal experiences.
Does that desire threaten anybody's social fabric?
Not if freedom of religion exists, meaning you go from or stay with religion as you choose. So long as that rule set remains strong, then access to and freedom from tradition--as desired--remains solid and the main social fabric (that social sense that this is a great place to live) remains in tact.
Just enough freedom yielding just enough tradition yielding just enough social cohesion--a rule set worth defending and remembering today.
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Comments (2)
adirondak animosh!;-)
Posted by GLASR | November 24, 2006 8:53 PM
Particularly thought-provoking post this fine day. Thanks, and happy holidays to you and your family!
Posted by Nan | November 25, 2006 10:55 AM