I read a lot. Not as much as I used to, (As a child, I used to read cereal boxes in the morning before heading out for the day). Now, I read enough to stay current, and informed. Being a reader makes it hard for me to take the time to write, even though I love to write. I don't write as much as I used to, because my work schedule is not suited to it right now. Now, if someone wanted to pay me to write....but, that could get old quick.
For those who've taken the time to read my past blogs, you know this blog is all about being at peace with God, others, and yourself. Being at peace is something people have a hard time with right now. Politically, socially, and even spiritually, people seem to be in turmoil. People seem to be conflicted about their culture, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and a thousand things to which the media is able to spin you up about. Some things make me snicker when I read them, and others make me shake my head in disbelief. For example, I still haven't figured out what cultural appropriation is all about. I have a good friend whose home is decorated in minimalist Japanese style. Her husband was stationed in Japan during the late fifties and sixties, and she fell in love with the culture. After her husband died, she decided to keep her home as it was in honor of his memory. Why is that 'wrong'? I also have another 'white' friend who loves blues music from the 20's and 30's. Is it wrong to enjoy, collect, and submerge yourself in another culture? Do you have to denounce your 'ethnicity' to enjoy the expressions of another race's culture? Why is it offensive for 'white' people to enjoy the clothing, foods, and cultural trapping of another culture? These are questions I've been asking every time I read an article about 'white privilege.' So, added to the many things we are in turmoil about, white people must now experience the angst of being 'white.'
I was saddened the other day by a headline in my news feed titled "Amy Schumer apologizes for being white." Although the headline was misleading, (She actually was saying her last movie role would have been better suited to a woman of color), it is interesting that the subject was even broached. It speaks to a deeper issue dealing with being comfortable in your own skin. Now, of course this is easier said by a white male.
Still, without being glib in any way, what are you going to do about who you are?
YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE. No matter what others might think of you, or what you think about yourself, you are what you see in the mirror. Actually, it is sad to think that the only way we can make ourselves feel important is by demeaning someone else. It is equally sad to think that race or culture can be used to crush, subjugate, or hold back those who are different. However, the dialogue doesn't begin by denouncing your genetics.
This thought was driven home to me as I read an article about Christianity being a 'white' religion. It seems as if our universities and high schools are on a crusade to begin purging the world of 'white heterosexual, males, and more specifically Christian males.' If Amy Schumer can feel guilty about her role not going to a woman of color, think about the implication for white males.
This problem of dissatisfaction with who you are is not bound up in education, the media, or any other manifestation of our cultural dis-functionalism, it is because we have lost touch with the creator who made us. It is God who gives us our real identity, and it isn't just 'white.' Real Christians realize this. Is there a problem here? Yes, we have many people who call themselves Christians who have hijacked the faith and used it for their hateful spiteful purposes. When you are a real christian you won't have to apologize for who or what you are. You also won't feel superior about who you are. A life changing faith in Jesus Christ makes it impossible to judge yourself as greater than anyone else.
Sadly, many universities and high schools are beginning to teach racism, and cultural elitism in an effort to lift minority peoples up to some invisible bar of equality.
THERE IS NO EQUALITY! As a vertically challenged, elderly, white male, I am here to tell you there is no equality without pulling exceptional people down. My genetics made me a male, Caucasian, of less than average height. It would be foolish of me to demand equality. What part of my genetics am I going to change? No matter how much I could protest, lobby, or push for equality, someone somewhere is going to be born taller, faster, stronger, smarter, quicker, or anything else better than I am by genetics. That is the greatest quality about true Christianity, you can be the image of God no matter your race, culture, gender, or even religion. This one truth about the the Judaeo-Christian value system is twisted and turned around by those who don't know the Word of God. God made us all, filled us with the breath we breathe, and gave us one simple command; Love God, and love others. If you do this with all your heart, you won't have room for privilege, hatred, or any other expression of superiority.
At the same time, I won't feel guilty about being white, nor will I be or feel privileged for it. I won't curse my parents for 'knowing' each other at the right time or temperature to make me male. I also won't curse them for passing on my mother's family genome of being short.
Like the little sparrows who are busy enjoying this lovely spring weather, I will simply rest in the knowledge that I am infinitely loved by an infinite creator who loves everyone with an undying love. I'm truly saddened for those who don't know this. Find God, and you will find peace.
