That's all I can do...

We don’t ever really fix the economic, social and political problems that plague our society. We just make minor alterations. The whites remain the privileged. And the fact that we made a token concession salves our white consciences. We tell ourselves that we have moved a little bit in the right direction. But that’s hogwash. We never come close to achieving a society where true equality prevails. Because we whites relish being privileged. Many of us really think that we deserve to be privileged. Because of the fact that we are privileged. That makes us superior. Because we’ve learned to dominate. To survive. Survival of the fittest. We’ve crawled to the top of the heap, so to speak. Doesn’t matter how we did it. Doesn’t matter that on the way we enslaved dark-skinned people and doesn’t matter that when we so gallantly “freed” the oppressed we still denied them basic civil and human rights, and still do to some significant degree. And doesn’t matter that when we established our grand America, which we so resolutely brag as a shining example of democracy and goodness for all – well, we don’t stop to think that we did it all by essentially wiping out the entire Native American population. And we justify that act by saying that we are the bringers of good. Yes, onward. We Christian soldiers. Fighting for goodness. Even today we think of ourselves as god’s gift to humanity. We pat ourselves on the back for civilizing the world. For bringing good white values to mankind. For being kind and loving. So, forgive me if I don’t buy all that crap. All I can say is that from my perspective we as a society as a whole have dreadfully failed. We have a long, long way to go to achieve what the likes of Jesus and god had in mind for us. Meanwhile, I’ll retreat to my cocoon and practice loving my fellow human beings one by one. Individually. That’s all I can do...try to respect and love the limited number of people that come directly into my life. --Jim Broede