Is English Destroying the World?

Sometimes I get depressed about job opportunities... One of the old standby things to remember is that I can always go and teach English in China or Korea, which, while not being something I actually want to do, is something that combines teaching and adventure... and pays actual money. However, recently I have been considering if this activity that occurs across the globe and is often used as a platform for Christian mission is actually contributing to the destruction of humanity. I know I am stating this extremely strongly but I want you to consider if a universal language is as good a thing as we generally consider it. I have grown up knowing that I can travel almost anywhere in the world and someone will be able to understand me... As a native English speaker I do not need to learn any other language to go anywhere or do anything, the whole world is devoted to catering for me.

However, is it a good thing that this is the case? Is this something that is bringing the world together? Something that allows for better communication amidst global diversity? Or is it yet another example of western imperial cultural domination that occurs at the literal destruction of other language and culture? Is the ubiquity of English contributing to the homogenization of global culture and the destruction of diversity?

Wikipedia:

Estimates of future language loss range from half of more than 6000 currently spoken languages being lost in the next 200 years,^[10] to 90% by the year 2050.^[4] Wade Davis states that languages - as not simply bodies of vocabulary or sets of grammatical rules, but "old growth forests of the mind" - for the many and unique cultures of the world reflect different ways of being, thinking, and knowing.^[9] 

As Davis puts it, language extinction effectively reduces the "entire range of the human imagination... to a more narrow modality of thought",^[9] and thus privileges the ways of knowing in dominant (and overwhelmingly European) languages such as English. Foucauldian ideas of power and knowledge, as both inseparable and symbiotic, are implicated in the universalizing of European knowledge as truth, and the rendering of other forms as less valid or false: mere superstition, folklore, or mythology.^[11] In the case of language extinction, those "voices" which are deemed to be inferior or secondary by colonizing, globalizing, or developing forces are literally silenced. 

Davis also illustrates that languages are lost not because cultures are destined to fade away (as proponents of environmental or cultural determinism or Social Darwinism may contend), but rather that they are "driven out of existence by identifiable forces that are beyond their capacity to adapt to"; he further remonstrates that "genocide, the physical extinction of a people is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of peoples' way of life is not only not condemned, it's universally - in many quarters - celebrated as part of a development strategy."^[9]

I think this is specifically interesting in relation to Christian mission which has been co-opted to spread the Gospel of English along with the Gospel of Christ... How should these statistics and realities impact the way Western Christianity positions itself in global markets? Is "English Camp" or "English Corner" a responsible platform for building relationships? Should we as Christians be concerned with preserving culture just like the environment? Should our missions celebrate honour and preserve diversity of language?

Many Christians are aware and regret the First Nations residential schools, which did not allow children to speak their native language and enforced English. This systematic, deliberate, and enforced destruction of culture no longer occurs with such explicit violence but rather is commercially marketed seducing the whole world back to Babel... I say Babel because that is the location where God creates/confuses the previous mono language of humanity. I say Babel because it is first example of human pride and empire building in rebellion against God. I say Babel because the Biblical redemption of Babel in Acts at Pentecost is not the destruction of language but miraculous understanding. At Pentecost, unity is found in the midst of diversity...not the destruction of diversity.

To my regret, I dropped out of French after Grade 9...To my regret, I have not maintained what I learned of Greek and Hebrew...To my regret, I never really learned any Dutch from my Dad or Grandparents... I have hated the pain and difficulty of learning language most of my life and therefore avoided it. It seems less and less likely I will every become even conversational... But I want to. I want to learn another language as an act of subversion of the hegemonic monocultural empire that is on the rise. I invite you to reconsider your monolinguistic love and learn another language not for practicality but for the greater Glory of God and the preservation and stewardship of his good creation both natural and cultural.

Jesuits in Space...

Just read a book called "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell and it blew my mind! I am still in recovery. Jesuits in Space... I don't even know what to say because I don't want to give anything away. This is such an amazing look at faith and doubt, cross cultural communication and life, reverse culture shock, post traumatic stress disorder, community, Catholicism, globalization, technology, science...

When life on another planet is discovered... the first to go are Catholic missionaries... not so much to make converts but to bear witness and to meet God's other children...to know them and love them - ad majorem Dei gloriam: for the greater glory of God. It was, of course, as is so often the case, a heartbreaking disaster...

The pages expose us to the horrifyingly difficult questions and challenges of cross cultural engagement with beautiful tenderness. A must read!

I begin the sequel immediately.

Developing Patience Quickly...

Patience is a virtue, though not one that our culture either desires or cultivates. Speed is the virtue of contemporary culture. I have been impatient throughout my life. In fact I wonder if the past 6 year have not been primarily a rather extended lesson in patience. I did not want to waste time with education such as university... I wanted to do stuff, make stuff, make films, work, live life...

Recently I have wondered if my how much of my undergrad was a form of penance for my immature pride... I think I can say now that I regret my decision to do a 1 year digital film foundation program at CDIS/Ai Vancouver... If I wanted to work on big sets in the union then Capilano has the better programs... But what I really should have done was take the scholarship BCIT offered me and done their broadcasting program. The broadcasting program, however, was two years, rather than one and focussed on: Broadcasting...which I was not and continue to be uninterested in... BUT I am more interested in broadcasting than I am in cleaning cars with toothbrushes, which is what I spent 8 months doing last year. I could have had a career in broadcasting from which to pursue art. I am so damn uncompromising though and just wanted to pursue art and films. So what I really should have done, but didn't because I was impatient, was go to Emily Carr. I should have been an actual art student... I have repented and am repenting. I love education. I am happy to submit to the rigour and time of process and learning. I deeply value history and tradition and regret my previous dismissal of such courses, which have since proved to be the most valuable (perhaps especially for art and creativity). When I graduated high school I was looking for the quick and easy way to start life and as a result seem to continue to be waiting...

By the time I finish Regent...If I finish Regent... I will have spent at least 10 years attending school either part or full time... I could have become a doctor, or a dentist, or a lawyer in that time... I could have gotten a BFA, and MFA... I could have become a teacher... But I have and continue to have a 'flaw' in my decision making... I refuse to make practical compromises... I am working on making peace with the economic worthlessness of my education. Perhaps, my hypothetical BFA or English degree would have been equally worthless. Perhaps, with enough patience my life will eventually click into place.  Perhaps, meaninglessness and failure and poverty are also part of my penance. I have resigned myself to what I see as the inevitable reality that both education and in particular education in the school of patience are life long endeavours to be endured rather than accomplished.

I have made almost every single one of these educational decisions, whether later evaluated as good or bad, filled with faith and conviction regarding God's leading and providential care. How do you tell whether you have encountered God or are just chasing clouds through the desert?

This piece of this film reminds me of my life...

The Art of Compromise:
When does compromise cross the line and become unfaithfulness? Is it possible to live without compromise? Does God compromise? What compromises have worked out well for you? Which ones do you regret?

Polaroid is Time Travel

Are we losing something important as more and more of our lives become contained in digital media rather than in real physical concrete objects? I realize that a blogs is an ironic place to address this question. However, it is precisely this blog and Facebook into which I invest significant "virtual" time... And as I do I occasionally become concerned regarding the value of that time and the intangibility of my achievement... Primarily, what I mean by that is that I invest a significant amount of creative energy into particularly this blog and entrust it to Google. I know I should back it up... but I haven't. And realistically Google is probably more reliable that my computer. So in one sense these words are more secure and certainly more visible but are they more or less real?

In the hypothetical abstract, which the internet is perhaps merely an extension of, we all happily affirm that yes these words are just as "real" as any other words... BUT we also all know that there is something special about getting a hand written letter or a note... There is something very different about physically painting letters onto paper with ink so as to form words and sentences and having people physically move it to its recipient in comparison to the buttons and technology required to send an email. Communication occurs both ways, and one way is much much faster, and yet there is perhaps a closer connection made between the two people in the physical act of writing and sending a letter. The same way I felt connected to people who have for thousands of years have worshipped in the Holy Sepulchre, touched those stones, walked those stairs... There is something about knowing that your friend or lover held that piece of paper, smeared the ink, ingrained their style and personality into their writing as they formed each letter, misspelled a word and crossed it out, folded the paper, licked the envelope... In comparison to the messy and enfleshed difficulty of writing a letter, email offers a near perfectly sterile and virtually telepathic meeting of minds and sharing of information. All my words have been spell checked and all my letters are perfectly uniform in Times New Roman. The problem, of course, as we all know, both from general life experience and even in conversation on this blog, is that humanity depends on tone, body language and context to infer meaning and it is actually far more difficult to communicate through the disembodied word than one might at first think. 

I like to refer to Polaroid pictures as the closest thing there is to time travel... When you look at an analog Polaroid picture you are staring a chemical reaction from the actual light waves of that very moment... In all other forms of photography both analog and digital there is a 2 or 3 step process of interpretation and representation that occurs... However, they don't always come out very well, and you certainly don't get to find out right away. In contrast digital gives you even more instant in your photography experience, which will help you to capture that moment and memory just as you remember it... And yet after its been cropped and photoshopped, no matter how beautiful it is, no matter how much it looks like what we think we remember or want to remember... there is a deep skepticism in me regarding images... A skepticism that is overwhelmed by the reality of a Polaroid... 

I prefer the visceral act of painting on canvas to a digital painting on a tablet. I prefer writing to typing. I prefer dipping pens in ink to ball point Bics. I prefer Polaroids to digital. I prefer Hookah to cigarettes. I prefer organic food. I prefer buildings at least 100 years old. I prefer old cars. I prefer seeing you in person than talking on the phone. 

BUT I prefer Facebook to not seeing you at all. I prefer blogging to not writing. I prefer a digital audience to no audience. I am seduced by the promise of ease and security. I am seduced by instant gratification and eternal life... After all, Google is forever...

Would Jesus be impressed by the miracle of multiplication that digital reality affords us? 

Technology is supposed to make our life better, easier, happier etc... Is it?

Whats your favourite analog experience?

Imagine a world without digital reality... Share your thoughts here on the intertubes...

Is this just nostalgia or has our reality actually been negatively impacted? Cost/Benefit?

#OccupyVancouver - On the ground

Ok so I have attended two general assemblies, went on the march on Saturday and just hung out a bit. On the first day there was 3-5000 people who showed up. Which was both amazing and I think overwhelming. We had great weather and a great march and the village was established. People are learning on the ground why democracy is slow and not everyone is excited. But there was another significant turnout on Sunday as the group continues to work to nail down a consensus process. Part of this process involved breakout groups which allow crowd discussion and ideas to happen and move to the mic. This was the best part of the day. People worked hard at actually communicating - speaking and listening - it was respectful, empowering and effective. There was also an interesting win for free speech when a participant was able to disagree with the movement's non violent position from the microphone reasonably articulately.

I had the opportunity to talk about #OccupyVancouver last night to a friend and failed miserably to communicate the fascinating and inspiring and moral nature of this movement. While in some respects so far it has been a protester convention, everyone with their own pet project and priorities, protesting is not the primary focus of what the group is trying to do. #OccupyVancouver is literally recreating society in microcosm, from scratch. While they are united in discontent, the movement is incredibly proactive. I say movement because occupy camps now exist in 900+ cities globally. By looking at the created microcosm societies in New York and Vancouver (the only two I have significant information on) it is easy to see what they/we want.

Consensus participatory direct democracy is the format in which the community thinks through and decides things. What does this say? I believe it is a critique of partisan politics and Canadian elected dictatorships, which is effectively what a majority government is. Furthermore, it is the demand for greater direct access, control or voice in our communities and countries. I think there is a sense that the ballot once every few years has become an ineffective way of voicing political opinions or communal desires. I think that the successful overturning of the HST is a clear indication that citizens want clear accurate information and a voice and will not have things foisted on them any longer. Regardless of your opinion on the HST, the results demonstrate the power of direct democracy, people's willingness to participate and their distrust of government. Furthermore, the consensus model emphasizes the desire for unity and the good of everyone AND a belief that this is possible. It fairly questions the idea a 51% majority in the house of commons should have the right to make decisions for everyone. Interestingly, the other places where consensus models of governance and decision making exist are the Orthodox Church, a number of First Nations tribes and the Quakers (Please add more that you know of in the comments). There is the political question at stake: Do we just want stuff to happen or do we want the right stuff to happen? And also how do we know or find out what the right stuff is? I think the financial, and environmental crisis highlight the increased perception that taking the time to really make good decisions that really represent everyone and the good of the planet are what is needed, rather than efficient political structures that exempt personal voice or responsibility, encourage passivity and apathy and are influenced by corporate voices more than community voices. Furthermore, the democratic ideals are founded on the belief that together we can make better decisions - if you think that the majority of people are stupid and shouldn't have a voice then go live in China because that's how they run things over there.

To the end of creating a community that is safe and inclusive and takes care of everyone, #OccupyVancouver provides free food - everyone is fed, everyone is kept warm, everyone has a voice, everyone participates. They claim they are the 99% and they offer a vision of what society could look like if the 99% re-evaluated their goals of wealth and luxury, continually chasing that 1%. #OccupyVancouver, minus some prayers and songs, looks more like the Acts 2 church than any church I know of...

The #Occupy movement has successfully imagined the possibility of imagining a better society with economic and social justice. They are actively working to not just offer ideas and suggestions, which there are lots of, but to also actually create it on the ground. This is exciting and inspiring I encourage you to find out more and get involved.

#OccupyWallStreet - Zizek

So far to my knowledge, Cornel West, Slajov Zizek and Shane Claiborne among others have all given speeches at Occupy Wall Street. They are like three of my favourite people!

Here is the transcript of part of Zizek's speech:


…2008 financial crash more hard earned private property was destroyed than if all of us here were to be destroying it night and day for weeks. They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are awakening from a dream which is tuning into a nightmare. We are not destroying anything. We are only witnessing how the system is destroying itself. We all know the classic scenes from cartoons. The cart reaches a precipice. But it goes on walking. Ignoring the fact that there is nothing beneath. Only when it looks down and notices it, it falls down. This is what we are doing here. We are telling the guys there on Wall Street – Hey, look down! (cheering).
In April 2011, the Chinese government prohibited on TV and films and in novels all stories that contain alternate reality or time travel. This is a good sign for China. It means that people still dream about alternatives, so you have to prohibit this dream. Here we don’t think of prohibition. Because the ruling system has even suppressed our capacity to dream. Look at the movies that we see all the time. It’s easy to imagine the end of the world. An asteroid destroying all life and so on. But you cannot imagine the end of capitalism. So what are we doing here? Let me tell you a wonderful old joke from communist times.
A guy was sent from East Germany to work in Siberia. He knew his mail would be read by censors. So he told his friends: Let’s establish a code. If the letter you get from me is written in blue ink ,it is true what I said. If it is written in red ink, it is false. After a month his friends get a first letter. Everything is in blue. It says, this letter: everything is wonderful here. Stores are full of good food. Movie theaters show good films from the West. Apartments are large and luxurious. The only thing you cannot buy is red ink.
This is how we live. We have all the freedoms we want. But what we are missing is red ink. The language to articulate our non-freedom. The way we are taught to speak about freedom war and terrorism and so on falsifies freedom. And this is what you are doing here: You are giving all of us red ink.
There is a danger. Don’t fall in love with yourselves. We have a nice time here. But remember: carnivals come cheap. What matters is the day after. When we will have to return to normal life. Will there be any changes then. I don’t want you to remember these days, you know, like - oh, we were young, it was beautiful. Remember that our basic message is: We are allowed to think about alternatives. The rule is broken. We do not live in the best possible world. But there is a long road ahead. There are truly difficult questions that confront us. We know what we do not want. But what do we want? What social organization can replace capitalism? What type of new leaders do we want?
Remember: the problem is not corruption or greed. The problem is the system that pushes you to give up. Beware not only of the enemies. But also of false friends who are already working to dilute this process. In the same way you get coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, ice cream without fat. They will try to make this into a harmless moral protest. They think (??? unintelligible). But the reason we are here is that we have enough of the world where to recycle coke cans…

Part Two

….Starbucks cappuccino. Where 1% goes to the world’s starving children. It is enough to make us feel good. After outsourcing work and torture. After the marriage agencies are now outsourcing even our love life, daily.
Mic check
We can see that for a long time we allowed our political engagement also to be outsourced. We want it back. We are not communists. If communism means the system which collapsed in 1990, remember that today those communists are the most efficient ruthless capitalists. In China today we have capitalism which is even more dynamic than your American capitalism but doesn’t need democracy. Which means when you criticize capitalism, don’t allow yourselves to be blackmailed that you are against democracy. The marriage between democracy and capitalism is over.
The change is possible. So, what do we consider today possible? Just follow the media. On the one hand in technology and sexuality everything seems to be possible. You can travel to the moon. You can become immortal by biogenetics. You can have sex with animals or whatever. But look at the fields of society and economy. There almost everything is considered impossible. You want to raise taxes a little bit for the rich, they tell you it’s impossible, we lose competitivitiy. You want more money for healthcare: they tell you impossible, this means a totalitarian state. There is something wrong in the world where you are promised to be immortal but cannot spend a little bit more for health care. Maybe that ??? set our priorities straight here. We don’t want higher standards of living. We want better standards of living. The only sense in which we are communists is that we care for the commons. The commons of nature. The commons of what is privatized by intellectual property. The commons of biogenetics. For this and only for this we should fight.
Communism failed absolutely. But the problems of the commons are here. They are telling you we are not Americans here. But the conservative fundamentalists who claim they are really American have to be reminded of something. What is Christianity? It’s the Holy Spirit. What’s the Holy Spirit? It’s an egalitarian community of believers who are linked by love for each other. And who only have their own freedom and responsibility to do it. In this sense the Holy Spirit is here now. And down there on Wall Street there are pagans who are worshipping blasphemous idols. So all we need is patience. The only thing I’m afraid of is that we will someday just go home and then we will meet once a year, drinking beer, and nostalgically remembering what a nice time we had here. Promise ourselves that this will not be the case.
We know that people often desire something but do not really want it. Don’t be afraid to really want what you desire. Thank you very much!

Reposted from: http://www.occupywallst.org/article/today-liberty-plaza-had-visit-slavoj-zizek/