Legacy

Over the last week I've been reading my last book of the summer, Outliers, The Story of Success. It's a book that makes the argument that all of us, whether we know it or not, are products of our background. That we owe far more to our legacy and that legacy contributes as much to our personal successes as any special talents or work ethic we may have.

It makes an illustration with Asian commercial pilots. There was a time when Korea had some of the most unsafe airlines in the world. That's because their culture dictated deference to authority. The pilot did his job and his decisions were always respected and adhered to. Those beneath his command, like his engineer or first officer, would not question him or risk embarrassing him. That meant that when he made a mistake, that mistake would go unchecked and lead to another mistake, then another, then another, until seven mistakes later, there was a crash. The culture itself created a situation where pilots found it difficult to be effective because what could have been three sets of eyes on the control panel became just one. 

It had nothing to do with the skill or the work ethic of the pilot, but everything to do with the intricacies of that particular culture. 

In the same way, the book talked about how southerners tend to get red hot angry. The Appalachians were originally settled by herding people from Scotland, Northern England, and Ireland. They had lived in difficult terrain in the old country and had only been able to rely on their families and their clans for protection and support. They had to protect their herds with force, otherwise others could come in during the night and steal their livelihood. In this way, personal honor became very important to them. They were fierce, battle-hardened people because they had to. They formed strong bonds with their community because they had to.

So these same people settled in the Appalachians in the American South and that culture of honor is still there today. A study was actually done on what happens when you call a southern boy a certain seven-letter word (I'll let you try to figure it out) compared to what happens when you call anyone else that name. The result? The Southerners' testosterone levels were up and they were in fight mode. The others generally laughed it off. It had nothing to do with lineage. Many of the Southerners had no ancestry from Scotland, England, or Ireland, but they were influenced simply from having grown up in the South. The Southerners, though they may not know it, were still being influenced by hundreds-years-old cultures, from a land thousands of miles away.

It made me wonder just what legacies affect me and affect our communities. It's easy to see the legacy in Halstead and Buhler and much of the area around Hutch: German Mennonites. The Old Country still isn't that far away. Many communities in this area remain strong despite relative rural seclusion in no small part because the old settlers relied on community so much. Some people think I'm crazy, but I swear I can hear the faintest hint of a German accent from some of Halstead's older citizens.

My direct ancestry seems to have two predominant characteristics: Very German, and very Lutheran.

The Lutheran bit is easy enough to spot in my family (seeing as how my dad's a Lutheran pastor and all). Appreciation for classical music has always been strong, especially for Bach who's probably the most influential Lutheran of all time next to David Hasselhoff.

The German bit is interesting as well. I was always taught to be proud of my German heritage, although that usually didn't go much further than occasionally eating dumplings. That being said, I DO know the words to O, Tannenbaum.

But there's a very slight sense of separation from those who aren't Volga German, and part of me thinks that stems from the persecution the Volga Germans faced while in Russia. They became distinct groups with different experiences than other German immigrants and remained separate and prideful. The whole persecution bit very possibly made some socialists out of some of our ancestors. At least that's the family story, anyway. Maybe that's why we have a fair amount of moderate liberals in the family. 

Having lived in three separate states (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas) I tend to wonder how much I've changed as I've moved from one place to another. My older brother still lives in Texas and he's still steeped in Texas culture whereas we're definitely midwestern now. Part of me cheers for Sweden just because Christina went to a Swedish college. The weather isn't just polite conversation but a serious matter that affects the livelihood of an entire farming community. Oh, and no one likes Missouri. In fact, there might be a few that still believes Missouri will burn Lawrence again.

Oh, Missouri v. Kansas. Now THAT'S a legacy to talk about.