The Death of the White, Heteronormative, Christian Narrative 

It’s hard when stories die, they define our lives and our identity. But what happens when the story ends, has to change or becomes dated? That’s what we face now.

The cultural dialogue of America has taken a fairly straight-forward course. The dialogue in this country from the French and Indian War of the mid-18th century and through to today has been dominated by the White, heterosexual, and Christian narrative. For much of this time, anyone who didn’t fit that profile was not a part of the overall narrative of American life. This excluded millions of people, and in many cases, white women themselves. One could even add “male” to that list as well, seeing as female voices were often suppressed until the 20th century.

While there was only one narrative, things went fairly smoothly for those in the center of that narrative. Everyone who wasn’t in that narrative had a derogatory narrative told about them. Gay people, women, people of color, and so on. Thanks to the tireless work of hundreds and maybe even thousands of people, the barriers started to be broken down in such a way that everyone who lives in the country, not just the dominant cultural narrative of the aforementioned group. In music, art, literature, and in public discourse, a variety of voices are now being heard, and to be quite honest, it’s tearing our country apart.

Abraham Lincoln was onto something when he said, “A house divided cannot stand.” Our current cultural dialogue is proving that. There are so many voices competing for attention and for a place in society that it seems impossible to bring everyone together. In my video about college campuses going so PC, I talk about how young people want our culture to be inclusive, safe, and enjoyable for everyone.

We need a new culture that everyone can join

It sounds easier than it is. Cultures take time. They have shared opinions, values, and ideas. They have created a shared identity and a history. This is not forged overnight, and considering that the old narrative has to fall away before this new one can take its place, this will not be an easy process. It will be fraught with anger, difficulties, name-calling, and worse. The reality is that it is already beginning. As minorities push for a full seat at the table of society, invariably others must move around to accommodate them. This includes listening to the stories that have yet to be heard, acknowledging positive and negative influences in those stories, and a nice helping of humble pie for everyone involved.

So many people are invested in stopping this policy or that policy or returning land to native peoples and all of this activism by so-called Social Justice Warriors and others are all trying to seek the same goal: a more equal society. They are pursuing often divergent paths to achieve this but the goal is all the same: change society so that everyone actually is seen and heard. This is a change from the exclusive society that we’ve seen and lived in the past. It means that gender expression can widen to include those who don’t fit within the norm. People’s various racial cultures can live together in harmony.

This is very difficult to accomplish, but like many things in this country, the Roman Empire offers us some advice. The Romans had a far-flung empire by any ancient standard, and through administration and infrastructure, they were able to keep it all under one roof for quite some time. This empire included many races, countless religions, languages, and cultures. But using the beacon of being Roman, they were able to allow a slave to eventually become free, and through the household system, help people fit within Roman society. Even religion, a hot-button issue in this country, was something that the Romans allowed as long as Temples to Roman gods were built and kept up.

I think that is the fundamental conflict and the fundamental problem in society at this time. Can our culture absorb anyone or anything new, including people who’ve been here but have been marginalized?

I think only time will tell us the answer. We have to live and breathe our way into finding out how good we can really be and what kind of an inclusive culture we actually create for everyone that embraces everyone and gives space for every culture to exist and co-create our culture that allows everyone to have their name, their culture, their people, and their ways without having to suppress everyone into a mold of similarity that clearly is not working. The key is to do this without balkanizing. Throwing up walls is not the answer and certainly doesn’t create a whole culture that we can all believe in. Ultimately, everyone wants a chance to live their life and to love and without that we really have nothing. Of all the great fruits this country gives us, if our country can deliver the ability for people to be themselves and live their lives; I think the American dream can be fully realized.