понедельник, апреля 24, 2006

East of Eden, West of NJ

There is a tendency I’ve noticed in myself to idealize my childhood. I think most people do this if they enjoyed their childhood. Maybe that is part of why I’m writing this now. Rural and small-town life is understood to be under attack by those who live there. If you didn’t know that, you’re not from there. In order to protect rural and small-town life, therefore, we create ideal farm and small-town stereotypes in order to prove we’re significant, valuable and important.

Hell, we’re neigh indispensable. Now that I think about it, we’re pretty damn superior to those suburbians and poor inner city bums in every way. We’re the backbone (or heart or whatever) of America. We’re patriotic. We’re not materialistic. We’re against corporate greed and the eroding of decent values. We’re pro-family, pro-guns, pro-fertilizer and pro-freedom. We grow berries and know how to make pie. When the God comes to judge the earth, the cities will get it Sodom and Gomorrah style while we country folk watch the fireworks from our front porch rocking chair.

Total crap, of course.

The idea that rural life is superior is an echo of Eden. This is why I love cowboys. But we got kicked out of the garden a long time ago. As for Cowboy hats… they are a result of the fall, like it or not. We can’t go back. We do a disservice to God’s creation when we talk about it like a Norman Rockwell or (gag me) a Thomas Kincaid painting. If I’m honest, I know my hometown Leavenworth will burn too, one day. I know the vast majority of the world will take the broad way to the wide gate and not even look for the narrow way that leads to life.

However, having lived in a city of one sort or another for the last six years, the city ain’t all that great either. Rednecks and hicks are the pictures urban folk use to scare their children into believing the city is where it’s at. This is just as wrong as idealizing rural life into cheesy paintings.

There is a reason kids leave small towns. It’s BORING! Of course, teenagers think any place they are is boring. This is because teenagers are extremely stupid in this way. I know. I used to be one. This doesn’t mean the city is better than the country, though.

Let me get back on track. City-folk think they’re better than rural folk because we know our story ends in a city, even if they don’t know it. Creation starts in a garden and ends in a city. We’re here to create, build, order, subdue and rule. Cities are fun. There’s a lot going on—the arts are alive (at least on the West Coast) in the city. Culture is created in both urban and rural areas, true. But guess which culture predominates when 6 billion minus 2500 people don’t live in Leavenworth.

You don’t see kids in the suburbs beating the hell out of a tractor then driving it real slow on the shoulder of the road wearing a straw hat for a little country flavor. It’s the country kids who dress like gangstas and sluts. You know what comedy is? It’s when you see a pimped out hatchback blasting Eminem as it cruises downtown Leavenworth. The town is 14 streets long, people. It’s dressed up as an alpine Bavarian village. There weren’t even any stoplights when I was a kid. This is not the ‘hood. Plus, you know the kid riding shotgun is not a thug, but works the drive-through window at Dairy Queen and got cut from C-squad football. It’s hard to do anything but laugh. It’s about then I usually realize they’re not joking and I become very sad.

This is all to say, city—get over yourself. Seattle especially. Most indie rock stays indie for a reason. It sucks. Not everyone identifies with “culturally relevant” church stuff. Worship bands that look like rock bands don’t appeal to folks who think music died with all the crooners. And just because they’ll all be dead in 20 years doesn’t make them less important. City, you’re not the New Jerusalem yet. Jesus ain’t here yet and y’all are posing hard.

Country, you’re not off the hook either. Quit lying about how great rural life is. You’re only making more Microsoft yuppies want to move over here and raise property values so much a regular guy can’t afford a house anymore. We’re not in the garden anymore. Admit it. Chumstick isn’t the Garden of Eden, no matter how nice the Enchantments are. I just wish people would stop lying about each other trying to make themselves look good, that’s all.

Once the good ol’ boys stop trashing the cube-monkeys we’ll be able to see things a little more clearly. First of all, the good things about rural life look backwards while the good things about the city look forward. It’s not the inevitable march of progress. If anything, we’ve managed to make things worse. What was Cain’s big sin? Lamech? We’re worse, trust me. No, it’s God’s design that things work this way. We have a cultural mandate given in Genesis to fill the earth and subdue it. We have a long ways to go. This means change is inevitable. Either we’re busy with what God has us doing or he’s busy prodding us back to work and that means change. The question, (and the nominal point to all of this) is what are you going to do about it? Retreat to the hills and pretend you’re in Eden? (It didn’t work for Lot and his daughters. Ick.)

Engage the culture people, engage.