by Anonymous Logician, Copyright October 13, 2006, all rights reserved. 744 views
One theme that cropped up frequently in my classes last semester is racism, particularly in North America and South Africa. And though the theme is overplayed in politically-correct literature, that doesn't make it less true or less painful. White people have indeed done some crap, and racism is never justifiable.
But it's instructive to note the lack of real accountability inherent in this PC cycle of confession and penance. When our postmodern vicars absolve us of our racial sins, they place our guilt on the sacrificial White Guy. This White Man, apparently, waded ashore in North America several hundred years ago–chained Africans in tow– and proceeded to screw the Indians over.
Now, my point is not to support racial slavery or the reservation system. Far from it. What I'm trying to say is that this White Guy doesn't exist, or at least not apart from Plato's World of Ideas. The perpetrators of racial crimes were actually people. Men. Individuals. (And individuals largely connected with the US federal or state governments–hum.)
The chic multiculturalism that loads this Platonic White Guy with all of our iniquities can only hope to create the illusion that something is moving. But like Bruce Willis' magic trick in The Sixth Sense, the penny never leaves the left hand. This means less work for us. No need to re-think our federal government; no need for arduous historical work that sifts racists from ordinary people; no need to look for hatred in our own hearts. But when the fuzzy feelings subside, something's still wrong.
The biblical antithesis is always between light and darkness–right and wrong. The issue is not blacks vs. whites, Euorpeans vs. Indians, Boers vs. ANC. The issue is the pride in the human heart that lets us think one part of God's image is less than another. Until we come to terms with the proper antithesis, we'll only continue to misplace it.
And the cycle will continue.