Economic Loss Equates with Cultural Diversity Loss: Merkel Pins the Tail on a Muslim

German Chancellor Merkel mourned the loss of "German-ness" this week as the advance of economic hardship in Europe puts strains on tolerance for ethnic and cultural diversity in Germany. The best way to make a man retentive and conservative is to threaten to take away his property, thereby creating a shift towards intolerance of ethnic or cultural differences. The problem is not as elementary as Merkel wishes it to be when she equates economic hardship with the threat of German "Christian "values against a perceived onslaught of Muslim infiltration. We've watched this movie before - as recently as 1930s Germany, when economic hardship caused leaders to pin the tail on another ethnic group. But black and white solutions, like the one Merkel proposes, are dangerous. The stability of a nation depends on its level of ethnic and cultural tolerance. Once the pendulum swings too far in one direction or the other, the system starts to tilt away from any hope of a solid economic or social foundation.

Codification of Culture

David Miller of Matador.com reprimands travel writers for utilizing a detached style of observation that mistakenly assumes a common culture.

A Culture's Vocabulary Comes Full Circle: Monosyllables to Acronyms

Culture in the 21rst century has come full circle in terms of daily vocabulary. Agrarian societies operated with a set of basically monosyllabic words: fruit, bean, soy, corn, wheat, rake, hoe, weed, plant, seed, reap, eat. Advances in agribusiness technology marked an increase in syllables: partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, high fructose corn syrup, emulsifying soy lecithin, farm-based intelligent default software, satellite radio implement guidance systems, Smartstax, etc. etc.

The syllables pile up faster than a fresh load of hay to the point where acronyms are needed to digest the significance of each agribusiness tool or activity. Genetically modified foods become GMs, seeds and chemicals are applied according to prompts from satellites in the form of RTKs. But only the industry giants hold dominion over the new vocabulary, and thus, daily activity of farmers. To understand the acronym, you must submit to the instructions of the "club".

The response is the slowfood movement. The movement not only sticks to one and two syllable words to describe daily activity, it empowers those wishing to work the land to break away from agribusiness giants. Good food. Slow. Fresh. Yum.

International Conflict Resolution Program at Kennesaw State U.

Kennesaw State University, one of the largest in Georgia , is offering a new doctoral degree in the fall of 2010 that specializes in international conflict management. The program addresses a growing need for understanding the political and economic roots of conflict as well as the intercultural dynamics that lead to resolution and the maintenance of peace.

Using Clay to Bridge Cultural Divides in 13th Century American Southwest

13th century Salado pottery reveals how indigenous women utilized a household craft to spread a message of cultural accord throughout the violent American Southwest. The particular style and design of pottery is found within three separate and often conflicting ethnic groups - a pattern that University of Missouri researchers say represents the infiltration of a unifying religion based on peace and accord between tribal nations.

“Conflict was defused through the direct action of women who sought to decrease the tensions that threatened to destroy their communities,” VanPool said. “The rise of the Salado tradition allowed threatened communities to stabilize over much of modern-day Arizona and new Mexico, altering the course of Southwestern prehistory. Given that the Salado system lasted from 1275 to around 1450, it was most certainly successful.”

Source: Kansas City Infozine, Wed. March 10, 2010

Rosier Book on Native American Culture's Contibutions to U.S.Politics

Paul C. Rosier's "Serving Their Country - American Indian Politics and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century" (Harvard University Press) makes the case for cultural accord. Indigenous people were utilized as "cultural ambassadors" during different conflicts throughout the 20th century. As part of a "cultural offensive" in Vietnam, indigenous people showed the face of patriotism to the South Vietnamese. To promote the idea of patriotic solidarity within the United States, indigenous soldiers represented a "hybrid American", blending tribal values with a duty to serve the country as a whole. But most of all, American Indians were vital to the effort to connect indigenous tribes of other countries to similarities found in the U.S. tribal cultures.

For excellent review see Washington Post.

Cultural Conflict Hardens Opposing Sides

Anna Haynes presents an argument that cultural conflict mars the climate change debate.