Inspiration:
Spirit of Justice, help my eyes remain open to the truth, even when it is easier not to see.
Finding the Blessing
Author James Baldwin said: “What passes for identity in America is a series of myths about one’s heroic ancestors.” Our civic culture tells us that America has always been in the right, despite the voices on the margins that have offered an alternative narrative. But standing at the memorial in Hiroshima, I knew that I could not avoid my place in history. As an American, I could not avoid responsibility.
It’s like the many conversations I’ve had with white people about race. “I’m not prejudiced. I’ve never kept black people down. I’ve worked hard all my life. Some of my best friends are….”
All of those statements can be true, and often are, but by living in a society that was built on prejudice and which depends on the presence of a permanent underclass of people of color, white people cannot avoid participating in a system that oppresses, a system that has privileged them. Its not about individual guilt or innocence; it’s not about individual culpability. It is a collective reality in which we all live.
My hunch is that queer folks, disabled folks and recent immigrants remember conversations that sound eerily similar.
It is easier, often, not to know some things. And far more comfortable not to ask some questions.
by Bill Sinkford, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church Of Portland, Oregon, Former President of the UUA TO READ MORE
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