Most Peculiar, Indeed

It seems that Fox New’s Brit Hume found the Native American blessing given by Dr. Carlos Gonzales at the memorial service for the victims of the Tucson shooting “most peculiar.” Dr. Gonzales is an associate professor at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine.



The emphasis is mine:

HUME: It was a similar hall. It was just -- the whole tone and atmosphere was different. And I kept thinking this week, you know, that he was going out on Wednesday -- Wednesday, it's just a few, just a couple of days and yet it seems somehow longer to me. It almost seems as if this event is a little late. Certainly the mood in that auditorium suggested that the sense of mournfulness that you might have expected and sobriety you might have expected was not to be found tonight. And of course, I think, the whole thing is attributable in part to the remarkable opening blessing that was delivered by, what was his name, Carlos Gonzales, who by the time it was over with, he had blessed the reptiles of the sea, and he had prayed to the four doors of the building, and while I'm sure that all has an honorable tradition with his people, with it was most peculiar. [Fox News' Coverage of the Tucson Memorial, 1/12/11]

The subtext of such a comment is a clear lack of understanding that yes, aspects of American culture different from our own do matter. Comments such as these further deny the fact that such aspects of culture intertwine in a complex manner to produce, in part – what we call “America.” Perhaps most distressing however, is that comments such as these represent a lack of interest in understanding the complexities of present-day America. This sheer lack of interest is dumbfounding. Especially when it comes from those who get paid a lot of money to inform us.

After all, it is ridiculous to think that in a state like Arizona, Native American culture would not in part, help inform how the general public interprets the horrific events of last weekend. And it is equally absurd to think there is no place for the type of reflection offered by Dr. Gonzales, through the lens of Native American healing.

It’s in the air. It’s in the water. It’s in the four directions Brit Hume so unfortunately chose to mock. It’s in Arizona, therefore it's in America.  In my book then, not peculiar at all. 

Five-term Arizona Senator, and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater knew all this. He knew and loved Arizona. And he understood how a culture other than his own could (over the span of 80+ years), come to influence his life, and subsequently help color how he interpreted the world. And perhaps I am wrong, but I don’t remember an outrage when at Barry Goldwater’s funeral, a Native American prayer and music were offered.

The five-term senator, born when Arizona was still a territory, was hailed as the state's favorite son.

Native American flutist Robert Tree Cody also honored Goldwater's longtime relationship with the Native American community with a flute solo and a prayer.

You are a great man, you are with the elders now. You are a chief,'' said Cody, a Maricopa and Dakota Indian. ''My people will never forget you as long as we shall live.''

So, the difference between January 12, 2011 when the memorial service for the victims of the Tuscon shootings was held on the campus of the University of Arizona and June 3, 1998, when Barry Goldwater was eulogized with full military honors? Are we really more "peculiar" now than we were then?