Chinese to Hum
June 3, 2009 – 3:34 pmUPDATE: YouTube was blocked by the Chinese government at the end of March 2009 due to an incident not related to the Tienanmen incident. The “YouTube” hyperlink below is the BBC News article that explains the details of that incident.
The Hummer and Global Culture
I wrote a research paper in 5th grade (1995) on my three favorite cars: Ford Mustang, Mercedez Benz SLK Roadster, and AM General’s Hummer. The H1 Hummer weighed in at 8,500 lbs., rumbled like a war tank, and gave the owner about 9 mpg. But what a machine it was!
I’m not a fan of the “toned down” H2 and H3 models, akin to strapping training wheels on a Harley. You see more H2/H3s wearing chrome and tinted glass than off road grime.
Yesterday Hummer turned another corner in it’s storied history, coasting down a road that could lead them closer to the scrap yard. According to Forbes online, as a part of the bankruptcy process, GM announced yesterday that
it signed a tentative agreement to sell its Hummer sport utility vehicles unit to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. The U.S. automaker touted the memorandum of understanding with privately held Tengzhong, saying it would preserve American jobs and help the company emerge from bankruptcy. But the deal has observers in China worried.
…Tengzhong, which is based in Chengdu, in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, manufactures heavy industry vehicles, highway and bridge components, construction machinery and energy equipment.
Read the entire article.
(Don’t expect much Chinese coverage of this story and others from YouTube or Twitter. China shut down access to these online portals due to tomorrow’s 20th anniversary of the Tienanmen square massacre.)
What does any of this have to do with Missions Mandate and gospel ministry? Regardless of your opinion about the financial ramifications of this deal or the peril of the Hummer image, one things is certain: the web of global culture is winding tighter.
Even the “made in America” label usually means “final assembly in America” or “sold in America.” The ripple effect of American business and culture touches the world, and vice versa.
I was reminded of the global culture last night as my wife and I watched game three of the Red Wings/Penguins series. (A tough loss for my boys.) Because we don’t have cable, we picked up the game on the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Channel) with our rabbit ears antenna.
While listening to Canadian announcers introduce the Star Spangled Banner, in the Pittsburgh arena, I realized that nearly half of the players on the ice couldn’t claim the anthem as their own. To cover all the nationalities on the rosters, ten different anthems would be required.
As believers we ought to rejoice at the unprecedented opportunities we have to advance the cause of the gospel. Through cheap travel, internet resources, and the influx of international students on our soil we can minister the good news of Jesus Christ to those bound by their sin. We would do well to think and act creatively in light of the global culture around us, all the while praying that God’s Spirit would regenerate their hearts for the sake of His name.
