Once again I read a friend’s meme that deflects away from personal culpability for complicity in a prejudicial and discriminatory culture. Basically, “while I voted for one who promotes all of these inequalities, I myself am not accountable for prejudice and discrimination”. Actually, you are. And so are some of the people I most love — though now respect less.

One implication of the post was that voting is banal. Who we vote for is not a moral matter. But who we vote for, as well as the budgets we support, ARE MORAL MATTERS. Their policies and stances influence and affect millions of people — often with serious, and even life-threatening, results.

This last election in particular was the most stark choice between the principles and values of the candidates. When one candidate (the first in the history of US elections) cumilatively undermined the very principles of democracy, freedom of speech and press, liberties of all citizens irregardless of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, bragged about groping women in their private parts, refused to pay laborers in his businesses, and even made fun of a handicapped man, one has to at least question a voter’s judgement and prejudices in choosing him — and I say this with the understanding that a family member who I dearly love likely voted for this despicable candidate.

I myself grew up racist, sexist, homophobic, and bigoted about other religions. I am not proud of that but I have to admit the truth. I received this from parents, teachers, friends, and the wider culture. I love all these people in my life, but they taught me to be prejudiced — not in a nasty or hateful way, but in a privileged and comfortable way. And my being reared in this way made the aforementioned designations true of me and pretty much everyone I knew.

I had no ill will towards any group as my religion told me to love everyone. For the longest time I denied my privilege and prejudice because I genuinely wanted people to get along and be at peace with one another. But I was still racist, etc.

While I defended a Black classmate from a racial slur from one of my best friends, I was still a racist because there were jokes I laughed at that were racist and I was taught that whites are superior to blacks. Since I did not overtly call out all of these instances and publicly disagree with them while remaining in my own privileged position, it made me racist.

The same could be said for my sexism, homophobia, and narrow minded religious views. We are NOT all of these isms because of how we consciously feel inside for all of these minority groups, but we are these isms because we benefit by systemic societal structures that oppress them while not directly speaking and acting to correct the problem.

The most vitriolic racists, those who are aware they hate these minority groups and actively try to persecute them, are a small remnant in the vast fabric of prejudice and discrimination in this country. The majority are in denial of the problem existing in them because they know they are not like the most vitriolic oppressors.

But when we ignore the fact that we are advantaged while others are disadvantaged, then as innocuous as it may seem we are part of the problem. Indeed, because our own prejudice and discrimination are so invisible to, and insidious within, us we are actually the biggest part of the problem. The overt racists will hopefully be dealt with by the law, but we law-abiding citizens who feel entitled to our advantaged social status while remaining ignorant or disinterested in the disadvantaged status of others can remain easily oblivious and thus conscience free.

While I have changed dramatically over the years on these issues and my willingness to speak out about prejudice and discrimination, I am still a work in progress on these issues. If we stop taking it personally that we at least have remnants of racism, sexism, religious bigotry, etc., then maybe we can do the proper introspection and self-critical thinking to repent and change our ways. But if we suppose that such designations do not apply to us because we don’t hate anyone while we are still benefitted by our various privileges while others are treated differently, then our complicity, silence, denial, and deflection are all signs that we are still racist, bigoted, etc.

I was not born this way, but how could I possibly avoid these things being reared in a culture drenched in these isms. I was not responsible for my reprehensible views then, but I am now. And if I am so proud of my culture that I cannot admit its foibles and how it adversely affected me, then it is not only the culture that is the problem but I who remain complicit with its discriminations.

There is much to love about our culture, and perhaps the best thing is that we could admit when we were in the wrong. I fear that we are quickly reaching a point where that is no longer the case. We need to admit our mistakes if we are ever going to be able to correct them.

Unfortunately, present leadership cannot do this, and it is rubbing off on the rest of us. I pray we wake up, consider our real values, and refuse to remain complicit with injustice anywhere. Otherwise, we are the problem.

— Rev. Bret S. Myers, 6/8/2017