Here is the fourth reflection paper for our Narrative Evangelism group project, this one on violence in our culture...
VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEMOctober 17, 2005
To quote a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “Now we see the violence inherent in the system! Now we see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”
There is indeed violence inherent in our cultural system—from street corners and dark alleys, to clogged highways, to the workplace, to the marketplace, to sports teams, and even to religious groups and the home. Violence, whether physical or verbal, affects us at every level of interaction. Whether we realize or not, even among close friends we attack each other often. My task for our group is to reflect on the violence in our culture as evidenced in personal interaction with others.
Perhaps it all begins in grade school and then escalates in junior high. Our playing centered on violence: fighting was fun. We (boys at least) played Cowboys and Indians, we pretended to be spies and soldiers, we collected action figures, we wanted to be heroes. I remember play fighting (boxing and wrestling) with my friends during recess—play fighting which sometimes escalated into actual fighting. Every day at recess in elementary school or in between classes in junior high at least one fight would have to be broken up. We made fun of each other, trying to come up with the funniest put downs and the most clever ‘Your momma’ jokes. Some of us competed to get the best grades, making those whose scores were lower than ours feel less valuable. Others made fun of those who took school seriously, calling them geeks and dorks. And you had to be cool: wear the right clothes, keep up with the right bands, shows, and movies, hang out with the right people. Yes, perhaps it begins in school.
Or perhaps it begins in the home: the sins of the parents are passed on to the children. The ways our parents interact with each other, with friends and relatives, and with us shapes our perceptions of normal behavior. In addition to their example, parents shape us by the attention they give (or don’t give) us. The amount and quality of attention they give affects our understanding of our inherent value (or lack thereof) as individuals. The phrase ‘sibling rivalry’ attests to the genesis of violence in the home.
Perhaps it is a combination of all of these factors: peers and parents, plus movies, televisions shows, music, the news, and more. Wherever it begins, it clearly continues throughout life. As adults, we continue to compete and to undervalue and devalue others (and ourselves). Even harmless jokes between friends build on the pain that already seeks to eat us from the inside. Beyond relationships with each other, we also learn from our culture to be violent toward the environment. Early in life we learn to be consumerists and to be wasteful with the products we consume.
Without intentional effort to end the cycle, we remain blinded to the violence, wastefulness, and incompleteness all around us. We become accustomed to the ways of this world and perceive no viable alternative. Some voices do speak out against this system, but like the prophets of old, they are usually ignored, shut up, or killed. Despite this resistance, however, it is our job, our responsibility, our privilege, our calling to speak peace into this world—to proclaim through words and actions the presence of a new system of shalom, the inbreaking kingdom of God.
...In my next post I'll include my reflections on U2's song
Peace on Earth.
