Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Diversity and Bonfires


Since my arrival here in Sweden, the Viking Princess has gone out of her way to introduce me to the customs of Sweden in the most traditional way that she can find. Swedes celebrates many of their earliest customs wit great zeal to this day. And, thanks to the VP, I have participated in the major ones.

I have danced the frog dance at the Midsommer Pole in Gagnef, wore funny hats and overindulged at crawfish fests at summer’s end. I’ve witnessed the pomp and ceremony on the Feast of Santa Lucia and saw Santa thrill young children on Christmas Eve. At the stroke of twelve, I have seen fireworks light up the city sky. I have given toasts on birthdays.

Last night, the cycle was completed with the lighting of a bonfire. On the last day of April, tradition dictates that a huge pyre of wood is set ablaze to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring. A choir sings the ancient songs of departure and welcome. A torchlight procession walks to the woodpile and it is set ablaze. The flame is visible from all over Stockholm, as the torched pile would shame any pep rally I have ever witnessed. Thousands of people from the city come to witness and participate in the spectacle. And it is played out all over the country, in towns large and small.

Walking home, I began to think about all of the traditions I had seen over the last year here in Sweden. And I wondered what I would have done if the roles had been reversed. If the Viking Princess and I had decided to live in the United States, what would I show her as traditional American customs? Some custom done in the States, like Sweden’s Midsommer or Spring Welcome? Some custom that is uniquely American.

Well, of course, there would be the Thanksgiving Dinner. Not with football games but the gathering around a well-stocked table and being thankful for the benefits received over the last year.

I suppose the fireworks on the Fourth of July qualify. They would be the candles lighting the celebration of the birth of a nation. The longest running democratic republic in the history of man. And then there would be…uh…what?

No other celebration could be considered uniquely American. We couldn’t count the ethnic celebrations like St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo. The religious holidays, such as Easter, are celebrated all over the world.

Really, the only other day was a thought by the VP. What about Super Bowl Sunday, she suggested? I would hate to think that the most crass spectacle of American commercialism would ever be considered as a national tradition. And to think that a citizen from another country would even consider it so says volumes about our image to the rest of the world.

The United States prides itself on its’ diversity. Its’ assimilation of the various ethnic, religious and national origins have given the United States its’ particular character. It has taken (for the most part) the best of all these diverse factions and in that great “Melting Pot” created the American persona. No other country has achieved such absorption so successfully.

Yet, we as Americans never seem to refer ourselves as such. We are always hyphenated Americans. When asked, the response of most average citizens is that they are an “Irish-American”, “Italian-American”, “Afro-American” or even “American Indian”. The only time we seem to acknowledge our birthright is during times of extraordinary circumstances or when we tour abroad.

It seems that the one thing that makes us great, that amalgamation of different cultures, is the main thing that keeps us apart as a country. We don’t associate ourselves as a product of the Nation’s soil, but as immigrants from somewhere else, even now.

America, like some humongous organism continues to divide and sub-divide itself as it grows. We decide on Red State or Blue State, liberal or conservative, black or white, Anglo or Latino, Christian or not, regular or decaf. The haves and the have-nots

For instance, someone born in Sweden is Swedish. Not Greco-Swedish or Iranian-Swedish. They are Swedish.

America is heading for a change, which seems to be apparent. How that change will come about will depend on a lot of factors. The main factor will be that the United States, as a nation, put aside its hyphens and work as a homogeneous unit. Differences will always be a part of life. But the next battle will be the retaking of the American soul and values that made this country what it is. We talk about them now. We have been fooled into thinking it could be accomplished by the present leaders. Now the country has to pick up the broom and start sweeping together.

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