TWTD: An Unaware Participant in Corruption

How can I be a part of a tragedy I am unaware of? I believe everyone shares a portion of blame for the corruption in today’s society (Although I try to not point the finger as much).

You ask how and why?

As many fight this battle for a world similar to God’s vision there are several reasons why this battle is not yet won. I notice that there are many who want a better world and society to live in, but there are many of those who are unsure where to stand in this battle. Then there are those who seem to be ignorant to change and seemingly to love the corruption of the world we live in so much not because they are just mean but because they are so use to it. Many of those who are unsure and plan to just live their daily lives can be seen as joining the system that’s corrupting our society without ever noticing. Although you may not notice it, you are joining the side of corruption. Many people, as well as myself, tend to grow up trying to fit into today’s system of life instead of believing in a better and different way of living life. For Instance when a child tells themselves, “I wants to become someone rich and famous,” this can be seen as one seeking dominance in a since of join the corruption side. We are made to believe that we must seek dominance in order to become “someone” in life. There are many other ways you can be standing on the wrong side of the battlefield without even noticing it.

However, there are many of those who are trying to better the world but are often put down or belittled. These people are looked at with shame and hatred to some because they are breaking the cycle in which many are so familiar with. That change just seems silly and bad even if the familiar way is corrupting. I want to encourage many to listen to these people and just think about what is being said. I am not asking for people to try to become perfect because you can’t, but I do encourage everyone to notice how they are adding to the corruption in this world and then try to fix them. Although we can’t be perfect, a group of uncorrupting people can’t create the impossible (perfect world), but can definitely create a beautiful and better society for today and the future. I understand and believe it okay if you grow unsure of what the answer is to this very difficult algebra problem (Algebra?………Well that stuff is very difficult to understand). That’s when we have to look at scripture and ask God who would be the teacher who has his Master’s Degree in Mathematics.  God will always be there to answer these types of questions. I want many of my readers to remember that it took a community to destroy and corrupt what God had planned for us, so it takes a community to begin the rebuilding and cleansing of the world.

TWTD: Unaware Inequality and How a Community can help.

I thought maybe I should cover a topic that many people tend to forget about. I want to speak about inequality and how it still exists throughout our daily lives. I also want to speak about community and the people being our voice for change as well as speaking about a few people who thought differently. As we wake up in the morning and go on through our daily lives, every American of another ethnicity besides Caucasian is being treated differently based on their just because of their skin color. Some notice this difference faster than others. But many of our Caucasian Americans are unaware of their placement on the table of ethnic status. They are placed higher than others. As I read Peggy McIntosh’s article titled White Privilege: UnpackingThe Invisible Knapsack, I began to notice some differences that I was unaware of and many that I thought was familiar. McIntosh called this an “unfair advantage” known as an “invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was meant to remain oblivious.” The assets McIntosh refers to are things such as many huge organization being ran by white males, good education system being found in a predominately white neighborhood, people of the Caucasian race being widely represented on the television and the cover of newspapers and tiny things like flesh colored bandages being only Caucasian’s color. These assets are what I would consider fuel that is added to the racial discrimination fire. I want to make sure people are aware of these privileges and how equal things throughout our daily lives really are.

Although the mainstream discrimination has been cracked down, it still exist and can be seen happening every day. Many of Americans don’t notice these “little” acts of discrimination because we are all still so glad that the battle to end racism is being won. We are like a group of soldier who are fighting a war and seems to be winning and at about ¾’s of this battle we put up our swords and celebrate our not yet won victory. I encourage many people of all ethnicities to open their eyes and notice these things and seek equality. I have many friends and people who noticed the inequality and try to seek change. For Instance, Shane Claiborne, Tony Compolo and Chris Lahr are three great examples of people seeking equality throughout America (all three of these man are Caucasian by the way). There’s two things these three people have in common and that’s the thirst for a better world and developing a community to get theirs and many others voices heard by the world. As I previously stated I encourage many to come together and form a community. An individual voice can't be heard over a distant and clearly, but a community's voice can be heard loud and clear from everywhere. A community can change the world.