Cultural Presumptuousness

Last November the Federated States of Micronesia celebrated Thanksgiving day, along with the United States of America. The holiday that awkwardly celebrates the arrival and welcoming of European settlers on the East coast of North America. The holiday that celebrates a time, an event, and people that never had any connection whatsoever to these small island nations, save a few unfortunate historical parallels. And yet, much to our dismay and outrage as cultural sensitive and humble Americans (and Canadians), the FSM celebrated American Thanksgiving once again last November, and did so with little reservation.

“What an example of cultural imperialism!” we cried. “This is so absurdly inappropriate, a stunning example of the negative effects of American cultural influence on weaker, smaller cultures. What an atrocity! An embarrassment!” We fumed, we talked, we threw up our hands. “Why did Americans ever come in the first place?”

However, after having a couple of conversations and observing the Thanksgiving Masses, it became clear that the Chuukese at least have made the holiday their own. Thanksgiving is a meaningful, powerful and beautiful holiday here in Chuuk. There is no celebration of pilgrim landings – there is a celebration instead of thing people here have to be thankful for. It is a celebration of family, of friends, of fish to eat, breadfruit to pound, islands to live on, of life. It is also a very religious holiday – a celebration of God and her loving presence in everything.

Above all, Thanksgiving in Chuuk is a holiday infused with meaning for the Chuukese, and one that is heeded with respect and reverence. For the Chuukese, it is a time to stop, contemplate, and give thanks to the many things we spend the majority of our lives taking for granted. The timing, to be sure, is more than a little irrelevant for the Chuukese, and for Micronesians, but the day and month is, in the end, of little consequence. For Chuuk, and presumably for the greater FSM, the essence of the holiday has nothing to do with pilgrims, Native Americans or rich forested coasts. Chuukese, and presumably Micronesians in general, have taken the holiday and made it their own, made it something meaningful and consequential to themselves. It is an American holiday, to be sure, but it has also become a Chuukese one, a Micronesian one.

Which brings me to the point. If we go back a couple of paragraphs we can read about our cries of indignation. Cries, I’ve since realized, that were based in a subtle, but fundamental and dangerous cultural arrogance on our part. We assumed that anything American was forced on these islands and that these islands really had no say in the matter. More sharply, we assume that the power of American culture is so great that the people of FSM, and the people of Chuuk, could do nothing in the face of it. That it’s power is so great as to take away the ability of Micronesians, of Chuukese, to think for themselves.

We assumed that the Chuukese were not thinking for themselves. That they were following blindly, ambiguously, superficially. And yet the truth is very different. Chuuk saw something good, and adopted it. The FSM saw something good, and adopted it. This country is full of free thinking, intelligent people. While other forms of cultural influences are more nuanced, complicated, and hard to navigate, the celebration of Thanksgiving Day is a simple choice. And it is one that was made, quite explicitly, quite simply. The national government asked itself, does the FSM want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day? The State government of Chuuk asked itself, does Chuuk want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day? Both said yes. So who are we to say no?

And this kind of cultural arrogance can be pervasive. The idea that American, or Western culture is so strong as to strip people of the ability to think for themselves. Such a fundamental assumption is extraordinarily disempowering. Such an assumption strips even more meaning from the very lives we pity for their superficiality, their loss of meaning.

One can see this globally in Christianity. Christianity spread through the missionary work of millions of ministers, priests, and lay people. Christianity spread through an effort to “save the pagans” or to “save the heathens.” There’s no denying or hiding this. And yet it would be well to remember that Christianity in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact, it is something quite beautiful. And presumably this is what millions of people saw, despite the potential arrogance of the missionaries themselves. You could never go up to a Ghanaian, or an Indian, or a Chuukese Christian and say, “the only reason you believe in Christianity is because of historical cultural imperialism,” because this would be an insult to their intelligence and a devaluing of their spiritual life. So why do we think such things?

I am not saying that the weight and power of American and/or Western culture is inconsequential. I am saying that we would do well to humble ourselves a little bit when we think about our influence on cultures abroad. That, in the end, people think for themselves and that, in the end, if they decide they don’t like something American, or something Western, they won’t buy into it. To not give people of other cultures the final say is arrogant, disempowering, and insulting.

That, in the end, the Chuukese celebrate Thanksgiving Day late in November not just because it is a random American holiday, but because they want to. Needless to say, our cries were effectively silenced.