Fair and unfair competition

The United States, as the capitalist capital of the world, is supposed to require competition in the marketplace in order for there to be a healthy economy. So powerful is the capitalist metaphor that even in the non-profit educational field, the sense of competition can permeate relationships.

I am however not a good capitalist. On Friday, I was at the Nordic Heritage Museum, offering them free advice. Then this week, I will be up there three or four times, doing free labor.

So some might say I am being disloyal to my own place of employ, the Scandinavian Cultural Center at Pacific Lutheran University, if I help my "rival", the Nordic Heritage Museum. Only I don't see it as a rivalry. In my mind, culture and education, and cultural education, requires an overall advancement in general knowledge and information, because people can only be interested in preserving something they are familiar with. They have to have a certain level of confidence and competence.

But it is a gray area, definitely. The two institutions are within an hour drive of one another, and are both currently trying to pool from the same dwindling group of 1st and 2nd generation Scandinavian-Americans interested in preserving their heritage. I of course have the students at the university as a different demographic, but the NHM would love to be tapping into a younger audience also. And I have gotten question and criticism from some of my members, as to why I am mounting an exhibition at NHM instead of at the Scandinavian Cultural Center. The simple answer is that there are more people, and thus more exposure, in Seattle than Tacoma, so it is for the overall good of the university. Plus it is a temporary, traveling exhibition, not a permanent installation. No biggy.

Unfortunately, this is one of those frustratingly nuanced positions that can seem hypocritical or paradoxical or disloyal. Kind of like trying to determine the exact moment when it is no longer OK to be getting facebook messages from two or three ex-boyfriends and spending time with several other single men, while also working at developing a lasting relationship with a good, decent guy. Or when friendly emails from a single work colleague to a married man become too friendly to be appropriate. 

Not that I am doing any of those sorts of things at the moment.

Comments

Jono said…
Well, at least you have the distance thing going between Seattle and Tacoma. I tend to agree that more knowledge for everyone is a good thing and everything is not about profit.
September 22, 2015 at 2:21 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dett í, ofan á, úr, út

I´m not sure if someone had dett í (gotten drunk), or if það bara dett ofan á (it just sort of happened), or if some dett úr (forgot), but at any rate, my household goods dett út (have disappeared). Let's review the chronology here. Early August packers from the shipping company arrive at the apartment in Moraga. They load my 4 large plastic containers and 8 cardboard boxes, plus one baby crib, into their truck. I watch my things depart. In September, I ask the friendly girl (Magie is her name) if she happens to know when I might expect my stuff. Late September she tells me. I am most impressed. Extremely so. Mid October rolls around, and I have not gotten a call. And it occurs to me that I am going to be traveling through November. Hmm. So I call again. Well, yes, she tells me, looks like your shipment should arrive on the 31st of October. Now here I admit that maybe I was a little lacks. I had a lot to do before my trip, and so when they did not call me, I did not follow ...
Read more

Cultural tourism in Iceland

I just finished writing a chapter of my dissertation, which resulted in a much larger discussion of cultural tourism in Iceland than I had intended. But the fact is, this is an issue I have been extremely interested and concerned about for at least 15 years, if not 20. I have never, ever liked the way Iceland is marketed to tourists in the U.S. Everything from the unspoiled nature to the crazy city life in Reykavik. It has always left the part of Iceland I loved--the simple joy of being in a relaxing and lovely place with my family--completely out of the picture. In 2001, I went to Hvollsvöllur to examine the Saga Centre as part of a study commissioned by the National Park's service to look into cultural landscapes as heritage tourism. I thought that endeavor might represent a change in how Iceland was presented to tourists. But in the last 10 years, and especially while working at Vikingaheimar, and at meetings with the Saga Trails Association, I came to see just how completel...
Read more

On Icelandic doctors

My friends and family here in Iceland were very enthusiastic about me going to the krabbameinsfélag for an exam. I was really impressed how easy it was to get an appointment--booked online even! And when I got there this afternoon, the efficiency continued: they have a well oiled operation in place there, all very organized with computers asking questions and keyed lockers to keep one's personal belongings in. Then when it came time to see the doctor, well, that lasted all of 2 minutes. And I paid 3420 kroner. So I was overall a little disappointed. When I mentioned to the front desk clerks that I was wondering if it was possible to actually get an appointment where I could speak to a doctor, I was given a variety of phone numbers. None of the ones I called had appointments within the next 6 weeks. In the United States, when I want a doctor's appointment, I can usually get it within a week of calling, though sometimes I have had to wait 10 days or so. The highest co-pay I hav...
Read more