Rituals, daily and seasonal, give order and meaning to our lives. They are sacred and symbolic, though they are so common that we don’t often give them much thought. It can be hard to think of them as sacred or sometimes understand what they stand for, but take them away and those meanings become very apparent. Think about your rituals, don’t take them for granted. They mean something. I hope it is a good meaning and not symbolic of an emptiness that needs to be filled.
These rituals are not just personal, but can also be communal. It is interesting to look at this Presidential Election time through are popular culture eyes, and not just our political ones. We have entered into a time filled with rituals, both sacred and symbolic, the primaries and then the election itself. It may not seem sacred, and this maybe because it has become devalued by many. The election process is symbolic of our democracy, and fundamental value of American society.
The process is suppose to be part of popular culture, it should be for everyone to participate in. In a democracy we are suppose to listen, think about what we hear and discuss it with others. It is not commercial in nature, though there is a part of it that is certainly commercial. The election process can seem to take forever, but this is a big country and I suppose we need the time to do a good job of electing our leaders.
I hope everyone will take the time to participate. The Ohio primaries will be in early March, the first Tuesday (this ritual is suppose to make it easy to remember). It may seem that everyone else gets a chance to vote before then, but you should still plan on going to vote. Not only does your vote count, but it is good practice to vote in the primary so you will be ready for the big election in November.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Martin Luther King Day
MLK Ritual Blog.
We will be ‘celebrating’ Martin Luther King Day. It is a relatively new holiday in our calendar, and becoming a ritual like other special days that we recognize as a community. What kind of ritual holiday is it, what does it say about our culture?
Like many holidays this day has a seasonal component. It is the a winter holiday coming a couple weeks after New Years, as Christmas and New Years are the main winter holidays and Easter is the spring holiday . It is something more though and says something very important about our cultural values. This holiday recognizes an important persons birthday, and in so doing his efforts to change our society. It recognizes a significant individual, but it also says that there are certain important values in our society, equality and justice for all people, of every race and ethnicity.
Wasn’t this something that has always been a part of American Culture? Yes and no! It was written into the Constitution but was applicable in practice. It took many years of political fighting, a war and still many years of fighting, and we are still working at it.
This is a new holiday and rituals are still developing, but they are there. The media will run stories about Dr. King’s great speeches and efforts to bring racial equality to everyone. In Columbus there is a community breakfast at the convention center that features speakers familiar with Dr. King’s work and at the end of the day there is a March from the Veterans Memorial across the Scioto River to City Hall. This ritual is particularly interesting since public Marches were an important tool that was used to help protest racial inequality in communities around the country. We are recreating and participating in an event that Dr. King would have been a part of. We become one with him through these marches.
We will be ‘celebrating’ Martin Luther King Day. It is a relatively new holiday in our calendar, and becoming a ritual like other special days that we recognize as a community. What kind of ritual holiday is it, what does it say about our culture?
Like many holidays this day has a seasonal component. It is the a winter holiday coming a couple weeks after New Years, as Christmas and New Years are the main winter holidays and Easter is the spring holiday . It is something more though and says something very important about our cultural values. This holiday recognizes an important persons birthday, and in so doing his efforts to change our society. It recognizes a significant individual, but it also says that there are certain important values in our society, equality and justice for all people, of every race and ethnicity.
Wasn’t this something that has always been a part of American Culture? Yes and no! It was written into the Constitution but was applicable in practice. It took many years of political fighting, a war and still many years of fighting, and we are still working at it.
This is a new holiday and rituals are still developing, but they are there. The media will run stories about Dr. King’s great speeches and efforts to bring racial equality to everyone. In Columbus there is a community breakfast at the convention center that features speakers familiar with Dr. King’s work and at the end of the day there is a March from the Veterans Memorial across the Scioto River to City Hall. This ritual is particularly interesting since public Marches were an important tool that was used to help protest racial inequality in communities around the country. We are recreating and participating in an event that Dr. King would have been a part of. We become one with him through these marches.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Getting over a cold....
There seems to be a little thing going around, and I think it just might be gone from me soon. I have been fighting a cold since coming back home from the New Years trip east. I have been going about somewhat in a fog and not in my usual routine. The fog seems to be lifting now and the routines become even more important .
Routines and rituals are those ever day events that give meaning to our lives. Most are very personal, some are local and others are national/ global. The personal rituals are very important to us but are strictly ‘folk’ in nature. We value them because they give meaning and structure to every day existence. They can even be sacred in character, but generally popular culture they are not. This is not to dismiss them completely but they are not the focus of our attention here.
My cold has been meaningful to me, but when everyone has one, and aren’t they really going around a lot more right now they might spread around into popular culture like a loud rude sneeze that infects everyone sitting close to you. Popular culture is generally commercial in nature, but maybe sometimes it might just not be, not when it comes to chicken soup. I stayed in, watched some old movies, sipped tea and lemon, and ate some chicken soup.
See you soon.
Routines and rituals are those ever day events that give meaning to our lives. Most are very personal, some are local and others are national/ global. The personal rituals are very important to us but are strictly ‘folk’ in nature. We value them because they give meaning and structure to every day existence. They can even be sacred in character, but generally popular culture they are not. This is not to dismiss them completely but they are not the focus of our attention here.
My cold has been meaningful to me, but when everyone has one, and aren’t they really going around a lot more right now they might spread around into popular culture like a loud rude sneeze that infects everyone sitting close to you. Popular culture is generally commercial in nature, but maybe sometimes it might just not be, not when it comes to chicken soup. I stayed in, watched some old movies, sipped tea and lemon, and ate some chicken soup.
See you soon.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The Big Game.
THE BIG GAME is going to happen Monday night, for dedicated Buckeye Fans it is a chance for the team to gain redemption from a disastrous showing last year in the National Championship matchup against Florida (did Michigan bring some joy to the Buckeye soul by defeating Florida this year?). The Buckeyes continue taking a beating in the national press as they prepare to go up against the LSU this year.
Sports are an important part of our Popular Culture. It is important to Americans and we spend a lot of time and money on it, not to speak of the emotional investments we make. What values does it reflect in American society? Rituals in society give us a sense of belonging, meaning , and organizing our lives. What ever sport you follow, what ever team in that sport, it can be the central feature of your time. Our teams become our icons, we live and breathe Brutus Buckeye, or that sacred necklace of those ‘Doe Eyed Nuts” to hang around our necks at game time to help bring luck to our team and us.
This game coming up is important; being in a national championship brings a sense of excitement anytime. Even more so this year, as it is a chance to find redemption. Redemption is another important value for us. Being in competition, succeeding, gaining recognition for our efforts (vicariously through the team), maybe even physical fitness and teamwork, but redemption is a value we hold as important. Defeat is to be avoided, by in many aspects of our society we take pride in those who have fallen low but through hard work are able to pull themselves back up and succeed, in business, entertainment, in politics, and maybe even in sports.
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