Imaginary Pedestals
This revelation can bring some disappointment. And although those who are oppressed may not care about the disappointment of those who deem themselves superior, that still does not negate its effects on the psyche. Within the damaged psyche lies the tragedy of it all. Nevertheless, disappointment is a part of life. We all experience it in a number of ways over the course of our lives whether it be through rejection, lies, or false hopes. The greatest disappointment can come when we have been misled to believe in something that is false or inaccurate.
I suppose that the biggest problem created by all of this is the distortion that it creates within our respective realities. More often than not, we are made aware of all of the daunting statistics affecting minority communities. We hear about the high rates of school drop outs, the high rates of fatherless homes, the high rates of sickness and disease, the high poverty levels, and so on and so forth. Meanwhile within communities of the “majority” we are made aware of the educational, financial, and health successes. The truth is that minority communities aren’t all sick, broken, uneducated, and poverty stricken. Likewise, all majority communities aren’t all wealthy, healthy, and functional.
It is very possible to go into an urban community and find at least one rose growing from the concrete and likewise one can go into an upper or middle class suburb and find some secret skeletons hidden within the closets.
NONE of us is perfect.
So why do we assume perfection for certain types of people while we condemn others to complete death and destruction?
As racist and prejudiced actions and modes of thinking have been allowed to permeate our societies, it has done us all, both black and white, a disservice.
When those at the bottom, staring up at the faulty pedestal become tired of the inequalities it has caused, they will concentrate all of their efforts on pulling it down. Those sitting upon the pedestal as it begins to topple over will begin to realize that it wasn’t as sound as they had believed.
Humanity is frail for both white and black. We all have our distinct God given talents but that never will and never has equated to one’s superiority over the other.
We have ALL been created in God’s image but somehow, someway, that message got lost in translation and became distorted.
The lesson is simple:
Power and privilege are dangerous in the hands of those who use it to the detriment of others. If you turn a blind eye to the important struggles of your fellow man around you and choose to stay atop of the imaginary pedestal, when it falls, the only things that will be left are shame, resentment, and regret at the denial of the truth that our differences do not make us superior or inferior to each other. They just make us different.
The pedestal is shaky. Be careful at the top.
A. L. Hearn