I am writing this mini-diatribe to reflect the feelings I accumulated yesterday at an Assyrian Halloween Party. Like most other Assyrians, I've been to an (infinite) number of parties, functions, gatherings, and picnics, and most usually vary in small nuances. However, I can honestly say that this party was by far an appalling display of what our Assyrian culture has become. It is true that, upon immigration, some of our original culture must be lost to assimilation, but this party seemed to show that everything we valued in Iraq (or Syria, Lebanon, etc) has been bartered and sold to the mainstream, synthetic pop culture. In other words, we have become something we are not. Yesterday, there was a strong number of teenagers at the party, and their behavior, mannerisms, and attitudes were alien. Barely post-pubescent girls donned clothing fit for promiscuous women. The attire was all skimpy, fitted, and showing inappropriate exposure of cleavage and skin. Some girls even wore tops that fully covered their front side, yet upon turning around, the piece of material was "worn" by a criscross of strings. Yes, strings, actual thread. I don't know about anyone else, but last time I checked fabric wasn't a scarce commodity. And the whole time, these same women are adjusting their tube tops and bras publically. How could anyone be comfortable in such...nonclothing? The men, though, weren't of any better caliber. As usual, they clustered themselves at strategic points in the banquet hall - namely the lobby, the bar and the bathrooms - and were busy inundating their bodies with liquor and hugging and kissing girls excessively. What happened to modesty, to that - bashful - distance between the young Assyrian man and woman? What happened to our sense of respect, our dignity? Is it me, or are a significant sector of our youth becoming these superficial, inflated, plastic quasi-adults bearing cell phones, pagers, cigarettes and nothing else? Who flee from party to party, in search of mindless conversation, looking for accessible girls and "player" guys? What happened to tradition, to the maintenance of a standard? I've never before seen such a base display of Assyrian behavior. And I know it always hasn't been like this - my guess is that this happened within the last three years. But i just can't stand this, can't stand going to parties and seeing girls draped on stained lobby couches clinging onto an obscure Sargon or David. I can't let this happen to our culture, we need a dialogue, we need to ressurrect our youth and remind them of their origins, traditions, and value systems.
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