The interviewee is a 30 year old American, of Indian origin, female and a spiritualist by profession. A spiritualist is someone who believes in the life after death and who can communicate with the spirits of the late ones by means of mediumship. In this case, the interviewee can be referred to as a medium as she claims to have the ability to communicate with the dead. Her clients see her for various requests and offer money as a gesture of appreciation. Their requests range from communication with their loved late ones to spiritual healing. Most of her clientele have relatively low income and perhaps seek her services because they are not costly, and probably as a last resort. Because of the nature of her work, most upper class Americans despise the practice and even consider it to be a form of sorcery. They often look down on persons in this field often considering them low class.
Most persons in this profession are female though there is no clear reason for this phenomenon. Majority of mediums are elderly and only in rare cases do you find one as young as the interviewee. The reason for this is that people are often more comfortable with a medium who is of mature age as they are considered more experienced and detailed in their work. The interviewee being of Indian origin comes from a family whose ancestors practiced the same custom. She was introduced into spiritualism by her grandmother who taught her everything she knows. She thoroughly enjoys her work though admits there are times when her patience is really put to test. This happens when clients visit her only with the intention of satisfying their curiosity about the profession, while pretending to need her services. Some would-be clients often make fun of the profession associating it with sorcery.
However, the few times a client comes back to express their faith and gratitude in her work more than compensates for the low moments. Persons in the field of spirituality believe in higher authority and are of the opinion that there are consequences for every misdeed or wrong committed. They have high integrity and moral standing, always encouraging people to be open with one another and own up to their mistakes before they seek retribution. The philosophy of spiritualism condemns the act of harming others in the quest to satisfy one’s own personal needs. However, the interviewee is of the opinion that to get to the future, we must go back in time and consult the spirits of the dead for guidance.
The notion that the dead are to be part and parcel of the present and future does not really go down well with me as I believe that death is the final stage of life’s journey where we part with our loved ones and move on. I am however of the same opinion that for every wrong we commit, there are repercussions to be met later on. We should therefore strive not to cause harm or pain to others, but to make life better for those we come into contact with. We live in a diverse world with a variety of cultures and, from time to time, the different cultures are bound to cross paths. However, our reaction to the cultural fusion will determine whether we can live in harmony with one other or whether there will be a clash. People should understand and appreciate the different cultures though they may not always agree with their belief systems. We can even adopt parts of other cultures into own and possibly come up with a blend that will improve our wellbeing. The fact that most Americans are quite liberal in their thinking goes a long way in ensuring that cultural diversity will serve to bind people together instead of segregating them.