The American Dream and Other Lies

I'm reminded of an experience I had as a child. Our church participated in a community housing program, where homeless women and children would stay for a week in one church and then move to another and another as long as needed. The churches provided housing and meals, and a nonprofit program provided case management and support services.

One night, I went with others from my youth group to help serve dinner to the homeless families. They were spread out over the fellowship hall, lounging on cots and speaking quietly to one another. Kids ran around, being kids. I remember looking at the sea of faces, faces of all different colors and backgrounds and ages. Looking at the infants, toddlers, and young children. I turned to one of the church leaders are asked, "Why are some people homeless?"

His answer to me was, "Well, not everyone knows Jesus, and when someone doesn't know Jesus, sometimes they make poor choices."

My eyes returned to the people all around me. They had all been kind to us. Humble in their circumstances. I didn't see anything that implied they were making poor choices at the moment. I wondered, what could they possibly have done that resulted in living like this?

As an adult, I realized he was wrong. I don't know if he said it to warn me off poor choices or if he honestly believed it, but the theology of his statement was off. Poverty has very little to do with "poor choices". Poverty is more related to corrupt and broken systems, marginalization of certain groups of people, and disparities in education and employment opportunities. Political decisions which emphasize helping the rich while keeping the poor, poor, is certainly a contributor. The influence of childhood adversity should also be noted, as well as historical trauma, which both have been linked to poorer life outcomes. 

It's easy for a Christian to say people are poor because they made bad choices or are lazy. It lets us think we are off the hook. We don't have to follow Christ's words about helping the poor if they are that way by choice or consequence. If we were to admit that it's our system which has created poverty and homelessness, instead, then we have more pressure to take responsibility.

It's also very American to blame the poor for being poor. In the land of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and the idealized "self-made man", we sell the lie that anyone can achieve prosperity and success. It's like the movie, "The Island", where the people are told they will one day be chosen to go to paradise on the island. A lie meant only to keep them passive and controlled. The lie of the American dream keeps us working ourselves to death while the rich continue to line their ever-increasing pockets. It's pure manipulation, meant to numb the population so that we won't notice.

The blending of American ideology and Christianity* never became more obvious than during the previous administration. It could be said that the early church in America was built on the same racist policies and principles as our country were - policies meant to benefit a few at the expense of the many. One way we see this very evidently in today's Church, is in the concept of "blessing".

Every fourth of July, most churches in America celebrate along with the country. They may go as far as to sing "God bless America", wave the American flag, or host parades or picnics. Inevitably, at some point the pastor is going to say something along the lines of: We are blessed to live in a country where we have the freedom of religion. We live in a Christian nation, a country that was founded upon Christian principles, and therefore, God has blessed us and will continue to do so, as long as we stay true to those principles.

See, I have a theory about this. My theory is, the reason why the religious right is so preoccupied with "family values" and creating laws against anything that seems to stand against Christianity is not because they care about protecting kids. It's because they care about protecting "the blessing".

Only, our country wasn't founded on Christian principles. Historians have noted that while the founders thought the principles of Christianity were helpful for a peaceful society, they weren't necessarily believers themselves. They were for the most part slave-owners who also believed it was allowable to beat women and children and treat them like property. They felt they, as white men, were worth more than women, children, and men of different colors. They created a society built for them, to benefit them, at the expense of others.

Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.

Our country wasn't formed on Christian values as much as it was formed on democratic principles influenced by libertarian philosophies which were more secular than theological. The idea that we live in a "Christian nation" didn't really even become popular until the 1950s, when Christianity started getting tangled up in the Republican Party.

This may be a hard pill to swallow, but America being a "Christian nation" founded on Christian beliefs is another lie we have believed.

A lie which has led us to confuse "blessing" with "privilege". 

What is the difference between blessing and privilege? Both are undeserved, unearned, and often unasked for. Blessing, however, is a form of grace, of favor or protection, freely given to us by God. Privilege is an advantage or special benefit within a society, given to or enjoyed by a particular person or group. White privilege is the term used to describe the advantages and benefits that people with white skin have in our country, not due to merit but merely because of the race we were born with.

This doesn't mean that White people don't struggle, or are never poor, or never experience trauma. Not at all. It does mean that the struggles, poverty, and trauma we experience is less likely to be because of our skin color. It does mean that we have a step ahead of those of other racial backgrounds. It means that we operate within a system that was designed for us and for our benefit, whereas everyone else operates in a system that was designed to work against them. 

When White Evangelicals wave the American flag and talk about how we celebrate July 4th or being American because we are "blessed", what we are really saying - likely without realizing it - is that we are privileged. Whether or not we recognize it, whether or not our eyes have been opened to it, White Americans in this country benefit daily from privilege. 

We benefit from white privilege every time we believe that racism is a thing of the past.

We benefit from white privilege if we have never truly had to consider what it means to be "White" in this society.

We benefit from white privilege every time we go for a walk on the street, knock on a neighbor's door, or wear a hoodie in public, and don't fear for our lives.

We benefit from white privilege every time we don't get a job we applied for and don't worry it was because of our race.

We benefit from white privilege every time we go into a store and a security guard doesn't follow us around.

We benefit from white privilege every time we easily find a band aid, bra, or make-up that matches our skin color, and a shampoo or conditioner that works for our hair.

We may be benefiting from white privilege even when we are able to live in the neighborhood we want, and if we are buying, when we get a mortgage loan on the first try.

We certainly benefit from privilege with the freedom of religion.

But isn't the freedom of religion a blessing?

Well, considering that a large percentage of Christians in the world suffer severe persecution, it may seem that way. But God never promised us freedom of religion. In fact, Jesus' words in the Gospel promise us the opposite - that we will be counter-cultural. Freedom of religion is a privilege that we have benefited from for generations in this country.

Or at least, Christians have.

Ask your Muslim neighbors if they felt they had freedom of religion after 9/11, during Trump's "Muslim ban", or literally anytime they travel on an airplane.

And what about the Jewish community? At least one out of every four Jewish people in our country have been a victim of antisemitic sentiment, discrimination, or violence. How is that freedom of religion?

I could go on, but I think you get the point.

When my religion fell apart around me, I asked God a lot of times, "What is it you want from us? What is it you want from me?"

Repeatedly, all I heard back was this: "Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly."

I knew the verse from Micah - there's even a fun song about it on KLove, a Christian radio station - but I didn't fully understand why that was the message I was getting. I'm still working on figuring it out. What does that even mean? What does that even look like?

A little research into my trusty commentary, and I found that "justice" in Micah 6:8 is the Hebrew word, "mishpat". It may be interpreted as restorative justice, or the bringing of order to chaos. 

In a world of chaos, in a broken system that bestows privileges on some over others, how can we help bring order?

When women wanted to right to vote, they had to convince the men to give them that right. They couldn't take it. Only the men could pass the laws and legislations that made it possible for women to vote.

If we want a more just system, a system that benefits all, that creates equity and true equal opportunity, that addresses disparities and traumas, that evens the playing field - then those of us in the privileged position need to step up to make it right. 

In case you missed it, if you are White and Christian - I'm talking to you.

We may not have created the system we live in, but we have benefited from it. It's up to us to be the change.

*There's a great book on this, called "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation" by Kristen Kobes du Mez. I highly, highly recommend it.