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Mar. 25, 2006
The Subculture of Home
I've discovered, for all the talk of cultures and subcultures and culture wars, that truth be told, we actually have a subculture right here in our house. People even accuse us of speaking our own language. Our speech is littered with quotes from movies we’ve seen, references to books we've read together or music we like (or don't), snippets of audio presentations we've enjoyed, and even things that stuck with everyone from certain school lessons. We have our own private jokes that no one else could possibly get based on family happenings and foibles. We have words and phrases that originated with this baby or that one and a toddler or two. We even have a word or two we've made up ourselves. References could include anything from Jungle Jam, Veggie Tales, and Adventures in Odyssey to Princess Bride, Emperor's New Groove, and My Fair Lady to educational videos and programs. Occasionally, we'll throw out a quote or snippet that someone else recognizes and it immediately becomes a point of contact. They say "Oh I love that movie!" or "I listen to those too!".
But a language alone doesn't define a culture, even a subculture. We also have a certain group of foods common to only us. (I sometimes feel sorry for the future spouses of my children when they are informed "I only like Mom's barbecue sauce." I guess the test of a good match will be them liking it too. LOL) We have a certain holiday traditions and requisite foods, for many holidays, not just Christmas. One of my daughters was recently discussing birthday traditions with a friend and was amazed at how different birthdays are at her friend's house. We have our own, not-on-everyone's-calendar, annual events. We have certain ways of doing things that might not be the way everyone else does them. Past happenings and events are perpetuated via storytelling and photographs for those too young to "remember when".
Our subculture is a rich blend of shared experience, passed down knowledge, common language, common philosophy, and a whole lot of love. Every family has a subculture of their own, although I don't remember the one I grew up in being quite as pronounced, because, (1) we didn't spend nearly as much time together, and (2) I was an only child. Nevertheless, all of them are blends of things passed down that we keep as part of us and the things we add as we go along.
There are some who find this a bad thing. They believe we should all be part of the institutionalized, prevailing, popular culture. People frequently use the "melting pot" illustration when speaking of our country, but a melting pot sounds like everything mixed together until it's a muddy, gray-brown, homogenous mess where nothing is distinguishable. I much prefer the idea of a mosaic where every piece is distinct, but adds to the effect and beauty of the whole. I believe our culture is much richer when it is a mix of all these subcultures. It makes the overall effect much more interesting and colorful. It's like having a choice of restaurants ranging from Italian to Mexican to Chinese to Thai, Indian, Spanish, French, Creole, etc., or every restaurant being the same fast-food burger joint. God made us all so unique. It's man who decided we should all be the same.
So enjoy the subculture of your own home and family. Have fun learning how different the families around you are. Don't worry. There will always be points of contact. You'll find other people who worship the way you do, or home school like you do or watch the same movies or listen to the same music. Then we can learn to celebrate both our differences and our commonalities. |
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Mar. 25, 2006 - Hi Back at ya'
Lisa
http://homeschoolblogger.com/meandmyhouse
http://me-and-my-house.org