prophecy
I discussed this question with some friends on Sunday evening over dinner:
How will our culture change in the next 100 years?
Some answers were optimistic some not so much. What do you think?
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How will our culture change in the next 100 years?
Some answers were optimistic some not so much. What do you think?
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posted by jch at
9:24 PM
6 Comments:
How would you describe the current culture?
Which culture are you examining? Assuming Western Culture, but what part of Western Culture? The Culture of the Big City? The Culture of the Deep South? The Beachfront Cultures of Florida and California? (two distinct cultures) The Border of Illegal Immigrants Culture? The Culture of the Rural Midwest? And more. So many to choose from.
So, which one are you asking about?
Vicki, I don't think we're as nuanced as you seem to think. Sure, there are some characteristics that define particular geographic locales but in the end, globalization means that rural midwest isn't much different from rural New York. The burbs of Atlanta aren't all that different from the burbs of LA. etc... And to go a step further, rural areas aren't that much different from cities. Again, there are specific issues that are different for different parts of the country but back away from those very specific issues and it all looks the same.
This comment should give you some clue as to the direction our dinner conversation went. Globalization isn't just a passing fad. It's hear to stay and its impact will be far greater than any of us can imagine. In one hundred years will there be a United States of America as we know it now?
Okay, I'll play... but don't hammer me if I mess up.
Food. How will our culture change? Food. I grew up in East Texas. Twenty years ago there were no Asian restaurants, for example, in East Texas. Today, they are everywhere. Restaurants are a subtle indicator of cultural shifts in our preferences. Food, oddly enough, is at the core of our world view. When people move out of their home countries, it is often their stomachs that remind them they are away from home. Those of us in the West are increasingly on the receiving end of cultural influences, instead of being the dominant exporters. This impacts a lot more than food of course.
Hmm, deep. I'm just going stream of consciousness here... when Jesus died and left the disciples to spread the good news, he left them in a culture where bad things were happening to christians... but the church met together, helped one another worshipped God together in each others homes. We still encourage one another today 2000 years later. We try to take care of each other and pray for people we don't even know at times. I think about a friend of mine who was traveling on a sunday and had car trouble and pulled into a churhc of christ parking lot for evening services... long story, but she eneded up driving away in another christians van until hers was fixed and they later got together and exchanged cars. That might not happen much in our culture but it happens in God's. How are we supposed to keep the culture we live in from changing us so much we don't reflect anymore what we are made to be? I don't know... but I think if we strengthen our own hearts to be more like His, it will make us stand out in this dark world and let those who need something to fill their hearts with, want to find out what is in us.
Russ makes me hungry.
My prediction: China and India will be the superpowers. Living in the U.S. will be alot like living in Europe now--former power, not like it was.
Globalization will happen, the questions will be how we respond to it and what role the Islamic fundamentalists will play.
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