Racism is our original sin, not slavery
We are all a part of this legacy, scars and blemishes, good and evil
June 24, 2019
... Therefore, public enterprise is attacked, and private enterprise is praised as a way keep the Others out. The modern Republican Party and the Reagan Revolution is propelled by racism. The pushback and vehement denials against racism, as it is called out in our justice system, are to keep a truth hidden. Legislative attempts to undermine effective government are motivated by a greed of the elite to preserve privilege. Society cannot extract something that resides in the character of America with simplistic laws or moral appeals. We are like the unfit and fat body; we must begin a path to health and fitness. We cannot just take a pill or have some magic surgery. Our healing, our reparations cannot be some one-time thing. We must decide to change our lifestyle and make health a habit. Eventually, if we stay with the program, the toxicity will be sweat out. America will be an identity that is not White, but American. The other as defined by race will not be a tool to use and manipulate power. Of course, Donald Trump remains president and his appeal is purely to the demons of the American soul. Mitch McConnell fights to retain the elitism of White patriarchy with any tool at his disposal. Those of us who want to get with the program of a new healthier America are the majority. We can succeed. Fitness works when it is a habit. If we are to restore America’s soul we must stay on the journey, one good day is not the goal. We need tactics that keep focus on the vision. We are all imperfect. All our lenses of ourselves and our histories are blurred. We must seek the more perfect union but realize our allies will all have imperfections. Racism is a part of the American character. If we are to repair our nation’s health, we must resist the bad habits and embrace the good habits. Prejudice is the bad habit and acceptance and respect of others is the good habit. Let us step out on the journey knowing it is not where we are today, but where we will be that must be our focus. When Addison Mitchell McConnell stands before the cameras and says slavery was our original sin, but no living American was a slaveholder, it is a red herring. The sin of our American character is racism and all Americans have inherited that legacy. We must acknowledge the truth of the scars and blemishes we carry. Reparations mean we unite in power to use our government to keep us on the journey to a healthier America.
Learn about Reconstruction
PBS Special Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.