(Click here for Spanish Translation) One of the consequences of migrating to foreign lands is the tendency to be engulfed in or by the new adopted culture and gradually forget one’s own roots. The host nation is generally unprepared for the incoming “guests” or immigrants and may tend to overlook or even look down upon the new ‘neighbors.” This has been the pattern of migration worldwide, since the beginning of time. It’s just human nature to prefer things the way they were, it’s easy for human nature to resist change and to even fear and undervalue what is unfamiliar.
Hispanics coming to the US, generally speaking, have had a very good run. The land of opportunity has been just that for Hispanics, truly a blessed and promising land full of hope and opportunities for education, financial stability and overall prosperity.
Like all immigrants around the world there have been some instances of stereotyping, slights and jokes made about Hispanics – again an experience that is familiar to all immigrants. But this kind of treatment can lead a people to feel ashamed of their roots and can even damage the self-image of their children. It is thus healthy to review, every once in a while, the positive values which we as Hispanics have contributed to our new country.
As Christians, we wish to guide our life by the Bible’s teachings. When our culture affirms values which are consistent with Scripture, it has a positive effect; but if the values it applauds are contrary to biblical teaching, our culture becomes toxic. Jesus said, in Matthew 7:17 “every good tree gives good fruit, but the bad tree produces bad fruit.”
Some Hispanics boast of being the typical Don Juan who “conquers” the ladies, thinking of themselves as “muy machos”. Sadly, other weak men become accomplices of this shameful conduct, applauding and envying them. This is called “machismo,” an unhealthy corruption of manhood popular in our traditional culture. According to the Word of God a true man honors each woman as a daughter of God, created in His image and likeness, and honors himself by staying chaste outside of, and faithful within, the bonds of marriage.
We Hispanics do have many positive cultural values that characterize us. Here is a preliminary list for you to consider – please feel free to ADD your comments right here:
Hispanics are:
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Very HARD WORKING people, distinguished for not being afraid of work.
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Very HONEST people, because we respect the property and rights of others (of course, with some glaring and shameful exceptions).
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COURAGEOUS people. Hispanic people in the Armed Forces have received proportionally more decorations for valor than any other ethnic group.
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LOYAL, tending to forge strong ties that don´t loosen easily.
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Highly developed sense of HONOR.
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We are HOSPITABLE; we open our homes and our tables to friends and strangers.
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We are RELATIONAL; we establish friendships quickly with strangers.
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We are an EMOTIVE people; we don´t hide our feelings but rather express them openly.
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We tend to be AFFECTIONATE, bonding and demonstrating affection easily.
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We have a highly developed sense of FAMILY, which extends beyond a single generation.
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We also have a strong sense of COMMUNITY. We like living close to one another (80% of all the Hispanics in the US live in identifiable concentrations).
In honor of the truth, we have to admit that we also embrace some unhealthy values in our traditional culture. The selfish nature of “machismo” is matched by its counterpart, matriarchy (a selfish, manipulative influence of mothers over their children). Also, many of us tend to be rebels: we avoid, reject or disobey authority easily (hence many of us migrate without permission). Thus egotism and rebellion hide behind deceit as Octavio Paz correctly pointed out.
To the degree that we choose to embrace the good values of our heritage and reject the bad, our own Hispanic children will be either proud or embarrassed of being one of us! Jesus said it: “You will know them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:16)
I invite you to add to my incomplete list of values that you feel characterize us. We’ll talk again next week!
Please write to me at jose.gonzalez@blog.com and visit us at www.semilla.org
P.S. In this blog I wanted to enumerate the many positive values of our culture. But in an effort to bring healing, I have written extensively about the overall traits of our culture (see my library of writings at www.semilla.org).