Reflecting on whiteness

Over the last couple of years, I have reflected a lot on my whiteness. For Jews like me, it's fleeting. Whiteness is like the tide. It comes and goes in waves. We are all humans. But some humans have been awful to other humans based on the color of their skin, motivated by how they can get ahead in a capitalist system. This is the history of the world, and the history of America. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" said Winston Churchill. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Getting to that point will take years of hard, uncomfortable work to face the reality of the past, and take action to create equity and justice. Reconciliation requires facing the truth. It may be the hardest work this country has ever faced. We won't stem environmental destruction without performing this work. I doubt that we are up to it, given that we aren't even up to the easy task of wearing masks to protect community health, but today I will try to be inspired to cultivate hope.