Race and Religion in America

So why is it that the last bastion of open separation between races and ethnicities is within our churches, synagogues, and temples? Is it because we feel compelled to separate by ethnicity for worship? Is the nature of worship itself inherently racist? Do we feel so battered by (un)spoken ethnic division in public that we need the shelter of segregated worship in order to recover? Or is it something else?

I think there must be something deep within us, either installed during our childhood or inherited, that makes us suspicious of things that are different. If you're not familiar with someone else's religion, skin color, or culture, it's easier to be wary of it. Prejudice (i.e. natural prejudgement to stimulus) is not necessarily a bad thing - it can be a helpful survival technique. How we react to it and what lessons we take away from that immediate judgement of the unfamiliar can be very problematic. When we use merely symbolic differences between people as justifications for paranoia (see my last post), that is a serious problem.

To think that the US is free of negative stereotypes and prejudices is ignorance. So what do we do about it? I've been trying to actively examine my reactions and prejudices and come to new conclusions. Only God knows if I'm making things better or just different. I know that staying complacent isn't a healthy option, so I'll keep going and let you know how it goes.

What are you doing and what do you think?

Michelle Obama's Thesis

There is a new viral e-mail floating around. It's not a virus hoax trying to convince you your keyboard will soon explode... although it's formatted almost that badly. This letter, which was just forwarded to me by a family member, is full of misquotes, pejorative speculation about Mrs Obama, and unverifiable accusations about her opinions and those of people around her. In other words, it's crap. After a quick search, I've just started to read her 1985 college thesis and I'll admit it's complex and as difficult to read at times as many other college thesis papers I've seen. It is not, however, what this awful, misleading e-mail makes it out to be. Unfortunately, the e-mail has the potential to rouse the irrational, race-paranoid side of American consciousness and that concerns me.

In it, she deals head-on with some of the heavy, heady issues associated with race and how Black people who integrate into larger (White) culture might run the risk of losing touch with Black culture. Lets face it, this is very dangerous territory. Taking lines of it out of context and slapping inflammatory accusations around them to rouse people's race fears is ludicrous and horrifyingly effective in getting many White people scared of her intentions. It would be sad if our knee-jerk reaction to this 22-year old paper causes a permanent shift in the nature of our political debate. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be a surprise if it did.

If you're curious about the document, feel free to read it (linked above) or check out the Snopes.com review of Michelle Obama's Thesis. I'm sure it will be coming to a radio, TV, or inbox of your's very soon.