People are all the same, right? And yet… There’s no one else in the world exactly like you! Just what does it mean to live in the paradox between those two ideas?

Divisions in society are a big deal. Polarities are even worse. When our civic fabric gets torn the essential benefits of citizenship start to fray. And make no mistake, there are big stakeholders with less than benevolent intentions who stand to gain when the world’s rationally-run Western liberal democracies are ripped apart.

Think about the last time you traveled to a significantly different part of the world. Perhaps you come from a more privileged country and visited the tropics or the global south. Maybe you have relatives in one of the ‘old countries’. Your city-living self got together with your country-living cousins, or vice-versa.

No matter where you travel, at first you’re likely to experience some level of what’s not-so-accurately known as ‘culture shock’. Even US travelers visiting a neighboring state will notice subtle differences in the norms and standards.

So when you really step away from your comfort zone into some faraway land where the food, the clothes, and the language are 100% alien to you, it can feel like you’re swimming in another kind of water. If you have an ally along who can translate the language, you’ve got a big advantage. If you’re doing your best to feel your way along and figure it out as you go, it’s a bigger challenge.

Few things could be further apart than the experience of eating a fish and seaweed-laden bowl of ramen noodles with chopsticks in Japan and a leisurely French lunch of baguettes, rillettes, and fromage. Daily fare in both places, yet totally novel upon first encounter.

But here’s the thing. When people aren’t pressed into polarity and pitted against one another (or a neighboring country), when the citizens have a baseline of needs met, when their human rights are respected, when they have the opportunity to pursue their dreams, when folks are free to simply get along with the basic business of being human—humanity in all of it’s cultural glory thrives.

Even when folks have to struggle against any of lack of any of the birthrights above, significant commonalities emerge. It’s the same stories, over and over, anywhere in the world. Folks fall in love. Anniversaries are feted. Birthday milestones are marked. Students graduate. Weddings are celebrated. Babies are welcomed.

Traditions are different, the clothing is different, the menu is different. Yet the basic behaviors of the people involved bear much resemblance to one another. Gathering together to share and appreciate food is about as fundamental of a human activity as you can get. Life is caught up on, news of absent friends and relatives is shared. There are jokes and laughter, people tease and give each other a hard time in their culture’s good-natured way. Timing and table traditions are upheld and passed along. It’s the glue that holds cultures together, starting in the family unit.

If I could wave a magic wand and initiate some sort of worldwide division-decreasing initiative, it would look something like big cross-cultural neighborhood potlucks where people take turns feeding each other and trying out different foods. More than just congregations of food trucks with various fare for sale, but people actually sitting down with one another and dropping in to the pace, the flavors, and the vibe of each others culture. If this was followed by music and dancing, so much the better!

‘Peace through Potlucks’ why not? As John Lennon said, “You can say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope one day you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”

Let’s embrace our individuality while celebrating our commonality. There’s nearly eight billion of us dancing together on this great floor called Earth, so we may as well make the most of it and lead with appreciation for one another.

This will be my last dispatch from France for a while, see you back in the USA!

Au revoir à Lundi prochain!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine