On Racism

Change begins with confession. And one must be careful not to be proud while confessing. I grew up in the USA, which in case you need telling is one of the most racist countries on earth. This produces a stain on the soul, I mean here the white soul, so deep it blends into the bones; to my dismay the utmost scrubbing fails to take it out. However conscious I think I’m being, I still find marks in unexpected places. Things I say and think bring me regret and shame; a continual process of awareness and repentance, meanwhile hurting others.

To which of the vices, (often a failure of virtues), does racism belong? Pride, as a sin, believes that one is better than others; Greed assumes a right to the possessions of others. The first vice of racism is thus a failure of justice, the virtue that returns to everything that which belongs to it. The second is a failure of wisdom (prudence), that assures a right relation to reality. Racism is a wrong relation: since all are God’s creation, no one can be better or more honourable than another. As all are washed in Christ’s blood, all may confess.