Difference does not imply deficiency.I agree with the statement in the abstract. I pained to admit that I don't think my current life reflects it adequately. The truth is, I more often than not associate with and talk to people who, by and large, have a somewhat similar world view to mine. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that, but working in a church, which, as most communities of faith, is one of the primary enclaves of self-segregation in the USA, exacerbates the situation. Am I setting myself up for failure, if what I say I want is more diverse community?
Another thing that frustrates me is that the need for dialog, or what have you, is so often referred to in a two-dimensional way, that is, as something that needs to happen between black people and white people. To be fair, I don't think race relations in the United States can be truly grasped without fully exploring this long history of prejudices, stereotypes, and outright racism and bigotry between whites and African-Americans. At the same time, speaking consistently only on that level is rather narrow and does not describe even the community here in Greenville, North Carolina. Rest assured, I don't labor under the delusion that I'm saying anything remarkably profound here. I am saying that until the conversation reflects our current reality a little more closely, I'm not sure where, if anywhere, we're going to get.
In the meantime, I show up. I show up to events held at different churches and communities of faith, not all the time, but on occasion. I show up in hopes that presence is important, and know that if I don't occasionally show up, things will probably not change.
Today I'm wondering how to be both hopeful and realistic at the same time.
Today I'm wondering how to be both hopeful and realistic at the same time.
1 comment:
Your comments/ opinions ring true. I comically say that you are " NOT just whistling Dixie " in what you say. I am a proponent of what the gentleman said, " difference does not imply deficiency ". As a person who worked with a Black man in 1965, in Mobile Al., and who has always worked with African-Amercians in the work force, I am glad to say that I have three friends who are African-American. Two of them I've known for 30 years. Yet, why don't I have more such friends ? Because I do limit my opportunities, whether consciously or not. And you are correct- I am in a society where like/similar persons are desired, and I do worship at a church, within that society, that is self segregated for a large apart. ( I did enjoy the arrival of the brightly red-dressed African American who sat near Delyle Evans a few weeks ago. I felt like God had sat her down in our church. )
With the horrors of ethnic cleansing happening, and with emotional barriers existing concerning ethnicity in almost every society, I wonder how much farther humanity can go in reconciling the differences on our planet.
I say let's build on what we have achieved, and try our best, through prayers and a refusal to further homogenize our society.
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