I have long ruminated about the challenge of living in a digital society where we no longer seem to have a common culture that roots us. It feels like, in generations past, Americans had a more universal experience where we did the same things (e.g. bowling) and consumed the same media (the Bible, the three major televisions stations, Top 40 radio, etc.) Out of that came a shared understanding of the world, something that united us all.
That is of course a gross generalization. That common culture only existed for certain strata of society (white, middle class people mostly). And this only persisted for a 150 years or so when the country was able to be connected in this way — say the 1850s to the early 2000s?
Nevertheless, it feels like such a challenge finding common ground today with more than the few people, for anything beyond sports, popular music, and major historic events like 9/11 (but not really?). We face not only a difference in experience and history, but also what dana boyd and others call an epistemological problem. E.g. we not only don’t agree on what is true, we disagree on how we find out what is true.
Which leads me to think of Quakers and our experience.
As the Religious Society of Friends, we famously have no holy book, no codified dogma, no religious leadership, and very little other structures that most other religions have. We should be a fractured, chaotic mess. And yet, for the most part, we aren’t. But why?
What Friends share is this:
- history
- values (the so-called “S.P.I.C.E.S“)
- practices
And that seems to be enough to create an enduring and strong common culture and community.
While we might not agree on U.S. foreign policy or how to combat homelessness, we have a shared way of seeking truth and consensus. We try to listen to the “still small voice” in the silence, to respect that of God in each other, and to seek to act out of love, not fear or hatred.
We have a shared epistemological framework that guides us — the truth is found in each other, in listening, in finding shared understanding — “the way forward.” And that’s a beautiful and precious thing.