The Culture that We Create..
with Anne & Amy
First, let's define our terms.
(With a little assistance from our pal, Wikipedia.)
Culture.
As in...
..."the social behavior and norms found in human societies"
As in...
..."the set of customs, traditions, and values of a society or community, such as an ethnic group or nation"...
As in...
..."the set of knowledge acquired over time"...
As in...
..."the development of a philosophical soul, ... (or) the highest possible ideal for human development"...
As in...
..."all the ways in which human beings overcome their original barbarism, and through artifice, become fully human."
As in...
..."to inhabit a place sufficiently intensive to cultivate it—to be responsible for it, to respond to it, to attend to it caringly"..
As in, something We create. Inhabit. Something we must be constantly tending, examining. sifting through and excavating what is useful, what is good, what is worth keeping and what is now ready to leave behind.
This week, we sit down and ponder what is happening right now inside this country and the dominant culture there. We look at our responses. And examine it all through the rich and multi-faceted lens of our earlier conversation with Lyla June Johnston - poet, activist, scholar, and proud conduit of LOVE.
What is an appropriate response to injustice?
How do we react when we feel the anger rising just beneath our skin, but in our hearts we wish to conduit peace, and lasting transformation?
How do we respond to the braided truths that we carry? Do we abscond with the pieces of our selves and our past which we can no longer stomach? Which we can no longer abide? Or do we willingly and bravely turn towards them, confront them and gently start to shift the way the tide is turning?
Apologies, in advance for the sound recording herein. As usual, we had some kerfuffles with technology and ended up just sharing this conversation as is - A phone call between friends. Two women, shooting from the hip, and speaking from the heart. Grappling with the questions. Somehow attempting to live our way - with you - into an Answer.
Enjoy.