Color-Man, 29 June, Gilead
Tonight, I am at Gilead Camp on the heights of Gilead above the mountains of western Jordan. This is a Christian summer camp for Jordanian high-schoolers. Sixteen and seventeen year-olds have gathered here this weekend for drum and drama lessons, games and fun, and seminars about sex and security and God's love.
You have to be a certain kind of person to be a youth director, and it's the same guy in Jordan as it is in America. America leads the pack for evangelical Christian camps. Twila Paris and Darlene Zschech are in the vanguard of worship songs right after the motivational speaker and the reckless, frivolous youth group games.
The big octopus of American culture has wrapped its lanky tentacles around the kids at this camp in Jordan. "My name is Samuel," I told a group of guys. "All right, Samuel L. Jackson," the chorus replied. They watch our movies, buy our style of clothes, listen to Tupak and say that truth is relative. American Christians could do more good for the world if we worked to renew our own culture. But how is American culture so successfully sweeping Jordan? Two girls told me they liked our culture because American guys treat girls much better than Arab guys. Certainly, our culture is glamorous and appeals to human nature.
Worst of all, it breeds discontentment and self-consciousness. Boys and girls pull at their shirts and their pants, when they stand up, making sure that they are just how they want them. They change their way of talking and walking to give just the right impression. Each of them thinks that everyone else is looking at them. In the end, I think MTV will have more effect on weakening Islam, softening its sharp edges, than anything else. But which is the lesser evil?
Sam
You have to be a certain kind of person to be a youth director, and it's the same guy in Jordan as it is in America. America leads the pack for evangelical Christian camps. Twila Paris and Darlene Zschech are in the vanguard of worship songs right after the motivational speaker and the reckless, frivolous youth group games.
The big octopus of American culture has wrapped its lanky tentacles around the kids at this camp in Jordan. "My name is Samuel," I told a group of guys. "All right, Samuel L. Jackson," the chorus replied. They watch our movies, buy our style of clothes, listen to Tupak and say that truth is relative. American Christians could do more good for the world if we worked to renew our own culture. But how is American culture so successfully sweeping Jordan? Two girls told me they liked our culture because American guys treat girls much better than Arab guys. Certainly, our culture is glamorous and appeals to human nature.
Worst of all, it breeds discontentment and self-consciousness. Boys and girls pull at their shirts and their pants, when they stand up, making sure that they are just how they want them. They change their way of talking and walking to give just the right impression. Each of them thinks that everyone else is looking at them. In the end, I think MTV will have more effect on weakening Islam, softening its sharp edges, than anything else. But which is the lesser evil?
Sam
posted by Unknown at 5:06 AM
1 Comments:
your humor is good sam. this is what I like about your writing, 'speically these short peices. Normally you have me laughing in the beginning or middle but then by the end I'm re-reading a part or learning what I didn't know and as cliche as it sounds, it's thoughtful and I like it.
You're writing isn't overdone. It's plain. It's simple. it's imformative but with heart. It's got grit though. and boldness. This is unique and this is appealing.
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