Honesty

 

I am going to play to stereotype and quote Bruce Lee:

Knowledge in martial arts actually means self-knowledge… ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. It has always been very easy for me to put on a show and be cocky, and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel pretty cool and all that. I can make all kinds of phoney things. Blinded by it. Or I can show some really fancy movement. But to experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that is very hard to do.

If you replace the words “martial arts” with “heritage” or “culture” you could pretty much sum up how I feel about myself as an individual in ethnic solidarity with others of Chinese descent.

It’s too easy to hate Arizona. From Senator Gray’s indulgence in Klu Klux Klan tweets to the United Nations’ criticism of its anti-immigrant law, Arizona has certainly worked hard in recent months to earn public ire. With its latest law, Arizona is banning “ethnic studies” classes with the belief they “advocate ethnic solidarity” and “are designed primarily for students of a particular race or that promote resentment toward a certain ethnic group.” The LL2 blog provides a readable analysis of the wording without the anger and the jargon.

In lieu of recent months, I  am finding it hard not to believe Arizona’s new law – Chicken Little or not – is just “ethnic cleansing” instead of an effort to teach school children “to treat and value each other as individuals.”

I’m a big believer individualism – Child of the 80s – WLIR – “Dare to be different.” But I am also a big believer in cultural heritage and personal histories. I am a fan of ethnic studies programs. In fact, I believe they should be started earlier – in elementary school when cognition moves from the concrete “me-centric” world to the more abstract “we” world.

Providing ethnic studies programs earlier assists in the construction of a firm social identity and personal foundation – Social identity being the retaining of self under fierce social/peer pressures – Personal foundation being a comfort level with yourself and your decisions under those same circumstances.

I believe it is important to be able to present yourself as an individual in ethnic solidarity – meaning finding comfort among those who share the same ethnic history while maintaining those traits and characters that make you uniquely you. This is a social skill. It is taught by family and school (formally and informally). It is behavior that is modeled and then practiced. It does not occur naturally.

Becoming an individual in ethnic solidarity is about expressing yourself honestly. It is not about reacting naturally. There is a difference.

It is natural to feel resentment towards the perceived ills brought on by a cultural majority on an ethnic minority. It is natural that the cultural majority blame an ethnic minority for the social stresses of change. However, it is not honest. Honesty would reveal the conflicts are the result of material pressures rather than anything brought on by ethnic association.

Assimilation occurs. It’s survival instinct. Dominant culture absorbs favorable aspects of new culture to form a new shared paradigm. New culture adjusts to dominant culture to enjoy the benefits it has to offer. This happens with all immigrant groups – from the Irish on up to the Chinese – and onward now to the Mexicans. The hope is with each successive immigrant group we become better equipped to cope with the growing pains.

I am steadfast in my belief that the Arizona law is wrong. However, thinking honestly about it, the ban has inspired me to consider aspects of my life that I most often take for granted. Becoming an individual in ethnic solidarity is important – And is something that needs to be taught – But it is not something that can be taught only in the classroom. It is something that should be taught through home and community as well.

My Mummy’s Curse

 

Maybe it was a just the times – Leonard Nimoy on In Search Of narrating the mysterious death of Howard Carter and asking: “Could it have been the mummy’s curse?”

The curse was missing from the Discovery Expo’s King Tut exhibit. In its place facts about his family tree. The sheer size of the exhibit and the organization of its objects into “chambers” that seemed to mirror Carter’s descent into King Tut’s tomb was impressive. The 60,000 square feet Discovery Expo (usually divided into two galleries) was converted into one single, massive gallery retelling old stories and introducing new facts about the infamous boy king, Tutankhamen.

To be honest the sensationalism of Tut’s curse distracted me from his personal history. It was much more exciting for me to imagine the supernatural consequences of Tut after his death than to ponder Tut during his lifetime. After this exhibit, however, my attitude has changed.

Eight years of Catholic schooling and decades of Easters spent with Charlton Heston asking Yul Brenner to “Let my people go,” I thought I was familiar with the introduction of the “One God” to Ancient Egypt. I did not know that King Tut’s father, Akhenaten (or Amenhotep IV), successfully installed a one-god belief system centuries before Ramses the Great met Moses. He called it “The Sun Disc.”

I had not realized the significant changes King Tut’s father made to Ancient Egypt’s art and culture. Of course, there was resistance and as soon as Akhenaten died, his son, King Tut, undid everything his father did. Tutankhamen restored the traditions his father abolished. Many of the statues depicting the Egyptian gods resemble Tutankhamen because they were restored during his reign. His father had them all destroyed.

The King Tut exhibit at the Discovery Expo answered a lot of the questions I was too in love with his curse to ask. In many ways the exhibit domesticated Tut. From something sensational and otherworldly, Tutankhamen became someone real and substantive – a son who disagreed with the politics of his father, a brother, a husband, and even a father himself.

A trip to the exhibit would be an excellent culmination (or introduction) to a sixth grade unit on Africa. However, it should be noted that some of the display cases are set too high for children to view. Also, a colleague pointed out though there are many interesting pieces, they are small and might lack the impact to hold a middle school student’s attention for long. She had anticipated more spectacular pieces like the enormous bust of Amenhotep IV or the simulation of Tut’s sarcophagus.

My own ask for the Discovery Expo exhibits is greater interactivity. Provide visitors – especially young visitors – with a tactile experience. The Expo’s inaugural Titanic exhibit attempted this with a huge block of ice visitors could touch to experience what the survivors experienced in the icy waters. The Da Vinci exhibit provided large touch screens visitors used to page through his codices and a table with large wooden pieces that challenged visitors to rebuild a bridge he designed. The Tut exhibit provided a brass replica of Tut’s skull but it seemed out of place. It might have had more impact to have a replica of his mummified skull so visitors could experience the coarseness of process and time.

I have been to all the Times Square Discovery Expo exhibits. I am always impressed by their showmanship – the drama used to convey potentially dry facts. It’s this drama that engages school age children and the casual observer. And while I would like more opportunities for a tactile experience, I can say I have yet to be disappointed.

In addition to the exhibit itself, the Discovery Expo has also planned special events tied to the Tutankhamen exhibit. The Discovery Expo is located in Times Square at 226 West 44th Street(between 7th & 8th avenues).