Hi Spencer, that's a very interesting take. Personally I think authenticity is predicated upon a person telling their own story. Now of course, there are people who are "authentically wrong" but if it is their own story, to me that rings of authenticity grown out of their experiences. There is the "sin of wrong belief" that plagues most of us from time to time, but I've come to the point in my life where I'm trying not to judge others quite as much. As for authentic "Country" I would point you towards my favorite question on the "RURAL SAT TEST":
Which one of these doesn't fit?
A--herpes
B--Syphilis
C--AIDS
D--Used farmed machinery.
The answer of course is B, Syphilis, because as all rural kids know, you can't get rid of Herpes, AIDS or used farm machinery!
Thanks for the comments! I agree that most people would now describe authenticity the way you do. An honest expression of self. But I also think self expression is a very new conception of authenticity. I would argue that we've only valued self expression as long as we've disvalued larger notions of cultural identity. The roof of the Sistine Chapel was not painted in the service of Michelangelo's individualism but for a widely held belief in faith and church. That older way to produce culture didn't really disappear until we started placing high value on individual expression in the late 20th century, when we began conceiving of individuals as messy products of cosmopolitan cultural influences rather than pure products of a single culture.
I'm sure all this ran through Toby Keith's head when he wrote "Who's Your Daddy?"
Hi Spencer, that's a very interesting take. Personally I think authenticity is predicated upon a person telling their own story. Now of course, there are people who are "authentically wrong" but if it is their own story, to me that rings of authenticity grown out of their experiences. There is the "sin of wrong belief" that plagues most of us from time to time, but I've come to the point in my life where I'm trying not to judge others quite as much. As for authentic "Country" I would point you towards my favorite question on the "RURAL SAT TEST":
Which one of these doesn't fit?
A--herpes
B--Syphilis
C--AIDS
D--Used farmed machinery.
The answer of course is B, Syphilis, because as all rural kids know, you can't get rid of Herpes, AIDS or used farm machinery!
Thanks for the entertaining column. T
Thanks for the comments! I agree that most people would now describe authenticity the way you do. An honest expression of self. But I also think self expression is a very new conception of authenticity. I would argue that we've only valued self expression as long as we've disvalued larger notions of cultural identity. The roof of the Sistine Chapel was not painted in the service of Michelangelo's individualism but for a widely held belief in faith and church. That older way to produce culture didn't really disappear until we started placing high value on individual expression in the late 20th century, when we began conceiving of individuals as messy products of cosmopolitan cultural influences rather than pure products of a single culture.
I'm sure all this ran through Toby Keith's head when he wrote "Who's Your Daddy?"