The Mistake About White Privilege in America
When someone throws out the white privilege concern,
especially those in the United States, they forget our founders’ tenets when
they established our new nation. We live in one of the latest structures of
government in the world. The grand experiment of the Constitution outlives any
other country’s government, especially those of a republic. But the
Constitution’s foundation does not depend upon the Federal government. It
depends upon the morality and character of a Christian people.
Our founding fathers’ quotes suggest humanity reverts
to base behavior without scripture’s aid. It’s also why, even under the
Articles of Confederation, the third article of the Northwest Territory Act in
1787 established a method for ensuring there were funds for public schools. Religion,
morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of
mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The
religion referred to is Protestant Reformation Christianity, which the entire
group of English colonies understood. You may also consider the foundation of
our university system started in its earliest form as seminaries. Yale,
Harvard, William and Mary, and Princeton fall under this program.
The mistake is thinking any one group receives more
than another. The majority of world cultures included slavery. There is no
question concerning who held slaves. Africans, Hebrews, Mexicans, and native
North Americans used slavery to bolster their economies. Many other groups did
as well and still do. History shows mankind is anything but kind. Americans
today are no different. But does that mean we are incapable of doing good,
helping neighbors, supporting storm-tossed communities? No, and the reason is that
we have a foundation of Christianity to support our governance.
Christian scripture, known as the Holy Bible, teaches
God recognizes no person. The inference is God created all humans in His image.
Each one of us reflects the image of God. The problem, of course, revolves
around our heart issues. God made us, so He knows the issues. He sent His Son,
Jesus, to give us one more opportunity to reestablish a relationship with God.
Most of our problems, well all of them, concern our lack of seeking God, and
when we find Him, remembering it’s Him who gives us light.
Christopher Columbus enjoyed a charter from Queen
Isabella and King Ferdinand to go forth and discover new lands, claim them for
the royal highnesses, and evangelize them. He started with the edict and
then found gold. Humans seem to have a propensity to get tunnel vision, and
Christobol did the same thing. He lost sight of God’s plan and focused on how rich
he could get. Christobol failed God and didn’t repent of his sins, those of forgetting
God’s plan. He died broken and penniless.
Here in America, scripture concreted our initial
foundations. The Mayflower Compact strode ashore with the pilgrims in 1620 and
laid the first course for a repentant people. Those foundations supported a
wealth of businesses and expansion through the colonies and into the heartland
of America. Contrast that with the Virginia experiment. The cavaliers who
initiated Jamestown grew up as second or third-born aristocratic sons who had
no inheritance. Their lifestyle dictated they were essential and others
servants, be it indentured or enslaved people. When the Dutch ship landed in
1609 with the first boatload of enslaved Black people, it supplied the
beginning of a vast selection of workers. Their Anglican priest had little
influence. The plantation existence focused on the elite’s lavish lifestyle and
the slaves bare existence.
We’re talking about European traditions and
expectations. The protestant reformation happened in the late 1400s. Columbus
brought the Roman Catholic version of Christianity to the New World, after
which there were 250 years (1500-1750) of its expansion in the Americas. The
English colonies and Protestant Reformation arrived early in the 1600s. By the end
of the 18th century, the people of the United States of America understood their roots. Their foundation supported the structure of the federal government.
Protestant and secular men gathered to determine the future of the United States.
Their great compromise ended in passing and ratifying the new Constitution. It
declared all men were created equal, but it said nothing about achieving equal
success. But again, men forgot God. Men, Christian men and secular men, saw the
resources of a vast land and determined they’d get their share. All colors and
ethnicities of men declared their intents. Many of them administered violence
to each other.
What seemed like a good thing to Europeans, copying
what the Spaniards did in South and Central America, led them on the trail to
Manifest Destiny. Even their Christian background couldn’t keep them from using
every advantage to advance themselves. Whether it be decimating natives, using
up resources, or mandating illegal applications of Constitutional directives,
Americans of all walks of life contributed to our degradation.
Still, there were remnants. The Methodist circuit
riders saw significant expansion of awakening in the Christian community.
Presbyterian ministers brought more revival. America as a nation started to
turn back to God. Not white folks. Not black folks. Not immigrants. Americans.
And that’s the point of this post. What happened in
American history includes many details obverse to our Christian heritage. But
we shouldn’t forget those events, nor should we erase the account. On the
contrary, we need to remember every one of the atrocities, wars, and examples
of greed. Because when we do remember these things, our nature should take us
back to the loving God who saw fit to keep North America sacrosanct until He
had a plan for a country to grow in His grace.
America still lacks many of God’s principles. We
should remember God doesn’t see persons. He sees reflections of Himself. Each
of us has the same opportunities under the Constitution. As God’s children,
each of us walks in a privilege of high standing with the Lord of lords. We
must stay in touch with Him through His Word, prayer, and repentance to bring
His kingdom into our lives.
It’s not an ethnic privilege to be an American, and
it’s a mistake to consider it so.
Well thought out, well written piece sir. The only "privilege" I've seen in life is that I have the same opportunities as any other American. What I make of myself is up to me. What I fail to take advantage of is also on me. Color is an external function of pigment. It plays no role in intelligence, reasoning, or common sense. What does effect those things are the environment American children are raised in. In my very early years, I was told how stupid and useless I was and how I would never amount to anything. When adopted, my family showed me what it meant to live and love as a Christian and that the free will God make mankind with was a double-edged sword. We could use it to make good and godly decisions and achieve great things (still working on it), or we could use it to support what ignorance, racism, and divisive words of hatred we are taught to believe about ourselves and others. Well said author! Well said.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mr J.D.. I trust more folks can see this view. Your comment is appreciated. Waj
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