An introduction.
What exactly is an American? That’s a really complicated question that depends on how you define the term, where you live, or what you see around you each day. Americans are perhaps the most unique people on Earth because we encompass so many different cultures, languages, religions, beliefs, ethnicities and regional quirks. We don’t have a set definition of what makes an ‘American’, and often that creates confusion for some of us whenever we encounter fellow countrymen that don’t fit the bill based on whatever our preconceived notions entail. It’s also hard to go by what we see online or in media because we often see the extremes of American life instead of the mosaic that shows how everyone’s individual stories make up, or don’t make up, a larger reality. If you add in the complicated nature of our history, especially one that might deviate from whatever dogma you were exposed to growing up, that creates even more confusion for some of us. In many ways, the ridiculousness of Americans that Dr. Miner described in the 1950’s encapsulates our continually idiosyncratic society today. Hence the title of the website: Observations of A Nacirema.
So what’s the purpose of what I am doing here? Well, I guess it stemmed from my own observations of American life and society as well as decades worth of learning and teaching about our history. While I certainly have a love for my country, that doesn’t mean that I’m not without my own frustrations with its inherent problems and occasional denial of those problems. I’m particularly annoyed when systemic problems are addressed with overly simplistic solutions and explanations or waved away with occasional willful ignorance. At the same time, I am amazed by our continued innovations that we make on a regular basis. We are nothing short of walking contradictions that simultaneously amaze and perplex us each and every day.
On a basic level, the travels I’ve had over the years as well as the people that I’ve encountered along the way have shown me how those contradictions affect our ability to see beyond ourselves. Accordingly, those experiences left me with both emotional scars and blessings, and undergirded the lesson that the ideas of America and its people are not as monolithic as one would expect or that some of us believe. That fundamental reality somewhat explains my own struggles in grappling with those that wish or hope that dissonance never existed or in some way undermines the future of our nation. This may sound simple, but our shared history exemplified that complexity and problems that some of us think are new have existed for a long time. If you want to get Biblical, the book of Ecclesiastes offers a pretty good synopsis – ‘nothing is new under the sun’. The context of our challenges may have changed, but they’re not much different than what we’ve faced in the past. At the same time, the good often came out of awful and violent circumstances by flawed actors that did not always act out of the interest of others – not that much different than the Bible either.
Although I certainly believe that all this resulted from human frailty and imperfection rooted in sin and that Jesus can and will eventually take care of it, that does not really offer a practical roadmap for addressing these problems to a wider audience that does not believe that. Accordingly, the use of Scripture can answer a lot of problems and offer guidance, but some of that also falls into human interpretation and imperfection too. While my faith guides my actions, it doesn’t necessarily dictate how others interact will interact with me or prevent the awful things happening in our society. Instead, I have to trust that God is using me in some way in the midst of all of this, and yet I grow impatient when His timing and will do not line up with that of my own. That inherent tension spurred me in the creation of this blog – how can God both use me as a tool in speaking to the problems around us and the complicated nature of our country as well as address my own impatience regarding His will?
So what will that look like? That remains an open door because while I laid out my inspiration, I have no idea as to where that will take me. I envision this as sort of a combination of encouragement and exhortation regarding our society and where we’re going. That will be rooted in some sort of historical insights mixed with personal reflections and the use of Scripture. While I certainly do not intend for this to become some sort of venting echo chamber that amplifies fear, anger and impulsivity like Twitter (I call it Twidiot) or a lot of other news sites and podcasts (too many to hyperlink!), I am sure that some people reading this will take it that way. I am not above writing from a point of emotional distress that can and will affect my judgment. I am also cognizant of treading into waters that might be too deep for me or are beyond my area of expertise – especially more complicated theological issues regarding Biblical interpretation or exegesis. I am listing disclaimers below for that very reason – I will try to be up front about what I know and am confident about and vice versa.
Before I talk more about myself, it’s important that I offer the following disclaimers:
- I do not know everything and my perspective has blindspots.
- Whatever opinions I offer here are my own.
- Yes, I am biased and my background has afforded me all sorts of privileges that in no way make me better than anyone else.
Got all that?
So, about me… Who am I? First and foremost, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior and God as an omnipresent and omnipotent being. He’s blessed me immensely in my life, while also offering challenges along my walk that might shake me up, but also make me reliant on Him. I also fully appreciate that sounds ludicrous to a non believer and that I cannot empirically prove His existence. I also acknowledge that the Bible does not have a simple answer to every question about modern circumstances but that it’s also God’s divinely inspired Word and that its truth still speaks through today. With all of that said, Jesus offers us the perfect example of how a human being should live and what we should strive for in our daily interactions with each other.
Professionally, I’ve taught both US and World History as well as some occasional electives in a relatively affluent suburban high school for 22 years and hold a Master’s Degree in Social Science with a concentration in History. History of all sorts has held me in its vice like grasp for my entire life. It’s ceaselessly fascinating, funny, unbelievable and also a testament to how human nature can both bless and destroy. It both explains and confuses the world today in how past events that happened hundreds of years ago are responsible for where we are now. It’s also a hard subject because unlike Mathematics or established Science, multiple answers and interpretations can explain a topic. That speaks towards the complications we see today in our own society – they do not have simple causes, nor do they have simple solutions.
Outside of that, I am a married father of three kids that lives in suburban New Jersey about halfway between New York City and Philadelphia (here’s my bias: I sometimes call it Filthydelphia). I’m a Yankees, Giants and LSU fan when it comes to baseball and football, but I don’t currently have an NBA team nor an NHL team that I consistently follow. I will say that my children are prohibited from supporting the Philadelphia Eagles and Boston Red Sox due to my sense of superiority over their respective fans and because they are thorns in my respective favorite teams’ sides. My love of history coincides with the rich traditions of the Yankees and Giants, and accordingly I probably spend way too much time perusing the wonderful website baseball-reference.com, where one can spend countless hours studying the statistical realities of our national pastime. If I’m honest, I’m also a sucker for any well written or well researched book about the history of baseball and its characters.
I also believe that writers have an obligation to transparently and honestly address complicated or perhaps controversial topics, otherwise they can unintentionally mislead their audience into thinking that they either agree or disagree with them. I’m clearly going to seem more Conservative or Liberal than you depending on where you lie on the political spectrum. I’m more of a moderate, and frankly feel a bit of a political outcast given how the extreme factions of whatever party are tugging us further apart. I am not a vocal supporter of either political party, and I will be blunt in saying that it’s foolish to believe that any politician is some divinely appointed savior for our nation’s problems. Further, it’s also foolish to surmise that God favors one party over an other – there are Christians of all political stripes who are genuinely seeking His will as well as 2 billion other Christians outside of our country that probably have priorities other than worrying about whoever is the next American President.
At the same time, I will not begrudge those of us who are sincerely concerned or afraid of how the world is afflicted by the perils of sin and death. I will however try to encourage and exhort us to look past that because it blinds us from opportunities that can actually help assuage the problems and tensions we see. You may notice that I use the words ‘us’ and ‘we’ throughout the essay – that’s on purpose, because all too often we see the word ‘they’ in our descriptions of those that disagree with us – I’m guilty of that as well. My intention is to look past the ‘they’ and see an ‘us’ behind it. If we are all truly equal in the eyes of God, then we are all equally flawed as well.
Observations of a nacirema 
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