On Privilege

Nearly two decades ago, I packed into a sweaty punk rock club to hear a well known pastor/author/speaker on his new tour.

He spent the better part of 2 hours waxing poetic on how, for the ancient Jewish people, the concept of a sacred/secular divide was completely foreign. There was no separation.

Everything was spiritual.

The idea that you could relegate certain aspects of your life into one column or the other was strange, would’ve made no sense, and quite frankly flown in the face of the popular teachings of the time.

If we are made by a creator, infused with his character and image, then it would stand to reason that everything we do either lives into that reality, or detracts from it.

Fast forward to 2024.

We’re in arguably the strangest, most chaotic, and most sharply divided time in my lifetime. Notice I said “My lifetime.” I realize that our nation literally went to war with itself and over a half of a million people were killed by their neighbors, so obviously there has been a time when we were more divided. But I digress.

You don’t have to spend very long on the internet to hear someone implore people to “stop focusing on politics.”

Or they may phrase it, “Why does everything have to be so political? I don’t do politics.”

I’d like to take a moment and address the “I don’t do politics” crowd. Not because I think I’m any better than them. I most certainly am not. And not because I feel like I have something to offer them. Likely everything I’m going to say they’ve heard. But because I feel like it needs to be said.

What I’d like to say to every person who insists that they’re “not political” or “don’t do politics” is this:

“I’m happy for you.”

I mean that with zero sarcasm. I’m not trying to be condescending or patronizing. I genuinely mean it.

I’m happy for you that you don’t live in a world where the election of a politician or the passage of a bill means that members of your family will be ripped from your home and sent back to a country they’ve long forgotten.

Back to danger, violence, oppression, and in some cases, dictatorship and war.

You will never know the fear that at any moment, ICE may roll up to your workplace and place you in custody, forcing your children to be thrown into uncertainty and confusion.

I’m happy for you that you don’t live in a world where the election of a politician or the passage of a bill means that your SNAP benefits might be slashed, making you choose between paying the bills or putting food on the dinner table.

You’ll never have to look into the eyes of your hungry children and tell them that you’re not sure when you will get to eat again. You’ll never have to choose not to eat so that your kids don’t go hungry.

I’m happy for you that you don’t live in a world where the election of a politician or the passage of a bill means that the white men that murdered your son or daughter for the crime of having more melanin in their skin than them will walk free.

You’ll never have to watch their GoFundMe account swell into the tens of thousands, while you scrape and try to figure out how to afford burying your baby.

You can look your children in the eyes and with full assurance, tell them that if they ever have a problem, they can go to the police for help because “the police are there to help them.”

I’m happy for you that you don’t live in a world where the election of a politician or the passage of a bill means that you can be fired from your job or evicted from your apartment because of your sexual orientation.

You’ll never have to worry if being gay or lesbian or trans is what cost you that promotion. You’ll never have to worry that if your spouse dies, a simple vote of a court could decide that you won’t receive any life insurance benefits, because your marriage is no longer legal.

I’m happy for you that you don’t live in a world where the election of a politician or the passage of a bill means that you won’t have access to the vital healthcare that you need. That you won’t be able to get your HIV tests, or that abortion consultation that you need because someone you trusted took advantage of you and now you’re carrying a reminder of what they did.

I’m happy for you.

Because you’ve never had to actually confront your privilege and ask yourself what you would have to do if you WERE in one of those situations.

Make no mistake, not everything is partisan, but EVERYTHING is political.

And the quicker you and I can wrap our heads around that, the quicker we can begin using the privilege that we enjoy every day of our lives to fight for those that don’t have the same.

Let’s get to work.