At: and fellow Learners.
I have followed this thread and even put in my two cents but without the
logic of At. It seems that the best songs and the best thoughts and the
best imaginings get left in the shower when the water is turned off. This
morning in the shower I was thinking along the lines that At has so
eloquently expressed.
I am afraid that my thoughts are like sandpaper to At's silky
presentation.
My impression of this thread is this:
It amazes me when people are so broad minded they are narrow of vision and
so "Politically correct" that they are culturally deprived. To belittle
the symbolism and the religious beliefs of any group or to poke fun at a
group because they are a different group IS abominable. To refuse to
recognize the significance of and the importance of and the universal
acceptance of an act or symbol is AS abominable.
What lack of cultural sensitivity gave anyone the impression that the
talking stick was a Native American invention? That the symbols of ANY
culture were strictly their own? As was implied by At there are MANY
recognized symbols and traditions that are not original with the peoples
they are associated with.
All the symbols, with the exception of the cross, of Christianity come from
the traditions and folklore of the peoples that make up the fellowship of
Christianity. The symbols and the traditions of the Hindu, Buddhist,
Shinto, Islamic and other major religions of the world are also made up of
the rich and diversified cultural and symbolic backgrounds of the peoples
within those religions.
Here there are no native trees! Trees have to be brought in at great
expense whether to plant or to put on display with all the lights and
tinsel that have become symbolic of Christmas. But there is an imported
plant system that has become symbolic of this region, the "tumble weed".
This plant grows to be quite large and when it dies and dries out, the stem
breaks off at the ground and the wind "tumbles" it across the prairie
spreading its seed. These plants grow to be quite large, up to 10 feet in
circumference. Since they are free for the catching, if you don't mind
getting scratched, they are used as Christmas trees by quite a few people.
This is a symbol of the region and, as At said, a symbol can be given ANY
meaning.
Christmas for many people here is the tumble weed. BORROW it. If you want
to use it as a symbol for your belief system .......... DO SO!!!!! Don't
belittle the people who do use it by refusing to find something in the
symbol that you can use appropriately. Don't be culturally poor just
because you have no feeling for the true meaning of a symbol.
Bruce Jones
brucej@nwths.com
--"Bruce Jones" <brucej@nwths.com>
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