PANDEMIC DIARY
THE CURSE OF PRIVILEGE
July 1, 2022
Privilege is defined as “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed by a particular person or a restricted group of people beyond the advantages of most”. It is a word that has come into full use of late with greater frequency. I would like to examine what privilege infers socially, how the concept of privilege is being twisted, how this usurpation is linked to religious beliefs, and how religion and politics are coupled.
The derivation of the word privilege is anglo-norman from the middle ages. The middle ages (476-1520) expresses a period ranging from Constantine to Leo X who reigned during The Protestant Reformation and the era of Martin Luther. Leo was a spendthrift and nearly bankrupt the church. His answer: to bestow favors on well positioned donors. These ‘blessings’ were able to restore church coffers to the benefit of the wealthy by increasing their influence. An Ecclesiastic quid pro quo. If ‘privilege’ derives from the middle ages, the word ‘blessing’ is earlier from the Old English, Latin and Greek and contained within the earliest scriptures. Originally, its sense was ‘to speak well of, to praise’. In Hebrew, blessing brk, is “to bend (the knee), worship, praise. A semantic change took place over time and blessing became reference to a special ritual act - ‘to sacrifice’; worship; bless - and, finally, “pronounce or make happy, prosperous, or fortunate”. Now it was an act to “invoke or pronounce God’s blessing upon”.
EVERY BLESSING IS A PRIVILEGE. Blessing is “a special favor, mercy or benefit”. In religious terms, these are “acts bestowed by God in the form of favors or gifts” (thereby bringing happiness) . Blessings, privilege, favor, and benefit are inextricably entwined. Blessings are like human dog treats. “Sit”, says the owner of Pooch…and Pooch sits. What follows is the benefit: a morsel, a reward, an acknowledgement of a task well done. After the heavy panting is done, the dog habitually seeks more of what brought him happiness. The reward is intended to elicit a preferred behavior that otherwise would not be repeated or generalized. If you want the dog to lie down or turn around, you must start from the very beginning.
In every day parlance, God is the source of all good gifts, of all blessings. The Bible reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). God is the owner; we are the Pooch. God doles out blessings in order that ‘his children’ shall repeat acts of faith, generosity, healing, etc., God wishes his/her spiritual gifts manifest in us, in this body, in this form, in this life. Therefore, the function of blessings as recipients is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessing. Your gain is not only of profit to you personally, it is also a gain for he/she that bestows the gift. How so? “A person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration” is a ‘profit’. God benefits as those who receive the blessings speak the word of the Lord. In fact, the first blessing from God to man appears in the first chapter of Genesis (1:28): “God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it.”
Here is where this all goes terribly wrong. God is conveying to us we are special - to multiply, to spread and occupy the Earth, to “subdue” and “master it”. This directive is in violation to Nature itself. It infers being of an ‘exceptional’ nature. It suggests that humans possess a unique and superior place and role on this planet. God wishes for us to be preeminent rulers of the Earth. Of course, this is disputable since it is not stated specifically as such but is an unfortunately unavoidable inference. The word ‘master’ has the regrettable presumption of being overlords. There are those who would wish supremacy, as in an owner of a plantation and slave holder. Mastery is not earned from practice, learning, or earning rather is an ENTITLEMENT. That is what we are witnessing today, that humans are the recipients of an advantage. That advantage is a superiority that makes us ascendant over someone or some thing - all advantage provides one with the “state, circumstance, opportunity, or means specially favorable to success, interest, or any desired end”.
“White Privilege” is a battle being fought on many fronts and is the prime example of the danger within this message. The simple fact is that privilege can become so ingrained, that one fails to see the privilege for what it is worth in the first instance. Privilege can easily decline into a sense of entitlement. If I deserve what I have, there is not guilt, no responsibility, no chance involved. I am special. For those who use religion as a scapegoat, God becomes the proof which confirms the individual as being deserving, “God chose me (us), so he must have intended for me (us) to have these favors and advantages”. In other words, there was nothing random about it. We got it, because we are special and entitled. This is the current state of the religious extremists and conservative right in this country. The sense of entitlement, laying claim or having inherent rights that others do not have, is justified by the very fact that ‘we have it and you don’t’.
Furthermore, the faithful’s zealotry is far greater than the general population since their interpretation leads the fanatic to believe this is God’s inheritance. That representing God in this way is ‘good’. It is God’s work. This is God’s directive to adherents. There is nothing that can convince them otherwise. This commandment makes warriors of a segment of the population that has pitted them against the rest of us, a battle between their perceived good against evil.
Religion is politics now more than ever before. A recent Supreme Court ruling has allowed a coach to have his team kneel at the end of a game and pray in the middle of a stadium. It has allowed certain religious thought to be taught in schools and is allowing other subjects to be restricted that are in conflict with certain people’s religious beliefs. This movement is dangerous and toxic. We must guard against this because it is leading to the institutionalizing of religion in our everyday lives. Worse, this license has given permission to hate speech, bias, prejudice that is condoned under the guise of religion.
From marriage equality, to gun control, to immigration reform and the threat of war, religion
plays a fascinating and crucial part in our nation's political process and in our culture On a Florida State road, Rte. 207, hangs a banner that proclaims. “Work Hard, Trust in God, Vote Republican”. At a conference where this was noted, a Chinese student responded by declaring, “All this superstition can’t be a good thing for American life”. I agree.