Syncretism and Me
Technically, I am English, Scottish, Welsh, and Portuguese. My mother is Protestant, and my father is Catholic. But I do not define myself by these terms. I've never been to Europe, and I'm agnostic when it comes to religion. I think of myself as American, a Californian, and a Bay Area resident. But when I say consider myself American, I have to think about what that means. Literally, it's someone who lives in America. I'm American because I have lived here all of my life, as did the rest of my family. Yet living in America, especially the Bay Area, exposes you to millions of people from other cultures who also consider themselves American. Therefore, using the logic of "If I am American, and they are American, then being American must be like being like us both," I consider these other cultures a part of my culture.
As an "all-American girl", I have integrated many other cultures into who I am, but some are not as obvious as others. To analyze these influences, let's take a look at myself step by step.
First of all, let's look at the clothes I wear. Some of it is truly seems to be stereotypical "American", such as blue jeans and t-shirts, but jeans were invented by a Jewish Levi Strauss during the California Gold Rush, and the t-shirt came into popularity after World War II when GIs wore their undershirts as outerwear. So, right there, I have integrated some of the Jewish culture and the many cultures of the GIs who fought in WWII.
Then there's one of my favorite shirts. It's long sleeved and on the front it bears the image of a Hindu god. I am not Indian or Hindu, so why am I wearing this shirt? Because I like it, and because enough of the culture has influenced me to the point where I developed the taste for this style of clothing.
(Picture of my room) When you look at my room, the first thing you think is, "Oh my God, she has taken this Star Wars obsession thing waaay too far." Star Wars may seem as American as apple pie (even though apple pie is a German/Dutch creation), but it was actually influenced by many other cultures, predominately Japanese and Indian. The Jedi are simply futuristic samurai, and the Force is only an altered version of Zen Buddhism. Also, the entire structure of the movie resembles the classic Greek myth format. By loving this movie as I do, I make it a part of myself. In doing that, I make these other cultural elements a part of myself, without even knowing it.
My music tastes can only be described as eclectic. I like everything from the Beatles to the Beastie Boys to Erykah Badu. Each individual artist or band comes from a different background, and if I cut out everyone who was not from the same ethnic background as I have, I'd be left with only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, if that. In America, everyone has the chance to present their talents, and everyone also has the chance to appreciate it. If that weren't the case, Erykah Badu and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, for example, would not have made their way into my CD rack.
This is my dog. He has nothing to do with my project, but isn't he cute?
Books are a big part of my life. It's hard to make out the authors' names, but included there are Isaac Asimov, Amy Tan, Bill Cosby, and Shakespeare. (Kind of strange to see Cosby's name next to the Bard's, huh?) When I read, the stories become part of the large collection of experiences I draw on that affect my life in the future, whether I liked the book or not. These experiences passed on to me by the author become part of my background, and I consider my background to be my culture. Culture is defined as "the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought," so therefore my background, made up of these socially transmitted experiences, is my culture.
Friends are huge influences in any teenager's life. As you can see, these people look nothing like me. So how can I relate to them? Because they are in situations similar to mine. They each have their own original cultures, but they have integrated parts of others into themselves. By being my friend and knowing me, they have absorbed part of my background, and vice versa. We have the power to communicate with each other and help each other understand where we're coming from. Once we reach that level of understanding, we realize what it would be like to be another person from another culture, and it makes it easier to accept that culture in the future.
Here's one example of the non-syncretism in my life. I am the president of the Celtic Club at Logan. In the club, we celebrate and learn more about Celtic culture. Since I am of Celtic decent, this does not require me to absorb a culture different than my own. I enjoy learning about the culture of my origin. It helps me feel connected with my heritage and gives me a sense of identity. Although I have made other cultures a part of who I am, my origins play a bigger role because of what they are, my origins. This was my starting point, and I have moved forward and taken in foreign ways of life, but I like to go back and ground myself with who I began as. Also, in learning more about my heritage, I can share it with others and allow them to absorb a part of myself.
My parents are prime examples of syncretism. My mother's Protestant and my Dad's Catholic, so put them together and you get... Agnostic! My family as a whole believes in the possibility of God, but not in any one religion. So, we take the most important elements of the two religions, fuse them together and come up with our own beliefs.
I could have included many more examples of syncretism in my life, but I chose the ones here because they fit my purposes best. My school has also played a large part in my life, but it has its own separate page. So, what's my point? The point I'm trying to make is that all these little things that I have learned, enjoyed, experienced, heard, read, and seen from other cultures go into my brain and shape my personality. These cultures join all the other cultures I have experienced and merge to form the "culture of me". You can't really try to break down what comes from where, because it is all integrated into one way of being. That is how syncretism has shaped me.
Click here to see my answers for the syncretism survey.
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