Towards a new American culture

With the inauguration and the opening of a new Congress, it seems like there has been a lot of political rhetoric in our lives recently, even by the standards of Washington, D.C. Don’t ask me to remember what speech it was from, but one of the things our new President recently said that struck a chord with me was that Americans need to change their culture (or something along those lines). In the context of the speech, President Obama was referring to the culture of greed and materialism on Wall Street and the financial markets which got our economy into the hole it is in, but his comments also made me reflect on the broader concept of culture in America.
What is American culture? It’s a hard question, and I wouldn’t be wise to try to answer it through this medium, but it’s definitely something to think about when you want to give your brain an exercise. Because of our diversity, I think it’s safe to say that American culture is multifaceted and influenced by a massive number of sources. On the other hand, America has been accused of not having its own culture, and of being too young of a people to have truly developed a cultural identity.

Again, this is an argument that entire books have been written on and it would be an injustice to attempt to condense further discussion on our nation’s cultural identity into this short discussion. However, I do feel safe saying that whatever American culture is, we could benefit from more of it. More trips to the symphony or a play, more dances, more books. When I hear the President saying we need to change our culture, I agree whole heartedly – we need to change our culture by become more in touch with it. In my opinion, the arts are selfless and are the antithesis of the greed and corruption which have caused such problems.

Even when the world seems to be too chaotic to deal with, a well performed piece of music, or a well executed play has a way of cutting through the mess outside and making you feel at peace with yourself. Multiple research endeavors have shown that people who regularly interact with the arts lead happier, fuller lives. Increasingly, the arts are even being seen as having medicinal qualities, with stories of people overcoming illness at a more rapid rate when they actively engage in music appreciation, or pick up a paint brush. Therefore, I don’t think it is a huge jump of knowledge to think that a dose of culture can help an ailing nation.

It is unfortunate that in times of economic trouble, funding for the arts is one of the first things on the chopping block, although that is a subject for another day. There is, however, a silver lining as people see this time of challenge as an opportunity to reconnect (or connect for the first time) to an artistic outlet that brings them joy. I recently came across an article about the effects of the recession on philanthropic donations and was pleased to see a quote that reminded me of this. When asked why, in a time of recession, she gave $30 million to the Performing Arts Center of Miami-Dade County which bears her name, Adrienne Arsht commented “to me, the arts are as necessary to our existence as almost anything else.”