Privileges

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

                                              Dwight D. Eisenhower

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People of privilege

Seldom know they are privileged

Whites

Christians

The Rich

All view the world from their bubble

Which protects them from the understanding

That their pathway is easier than others

I should know

I am a white

Male

Christian

Who was born to affluence

That affluence did not make me a success

But it made becoming a success easy

No issues with debt

A good college

Privilege

Privilege

Privilege

It is hard for me to understand how much more difficult the path is

For a person of color

A woman

A Muslim

And person who is poor

I just take for granted my advantages

It takes work to put one’s self in another’s shoes

It takes humility

And generosity

But mostly a willingness to say

Life is not fair

And to respect how difficult it is

To move up out of poverty

To deal with sexism

And racism

Every day

Every damn day

To have people shame you

Diminish you

Reject you

and the worst thing we can do

is hang on to our privileges

at the cost to other

for then we lose our souls

we become empty ciphers

when we value our privileges above out principles

we end up with border walls

children in cages

tax cuts for the rich

cuts to the safety net

marches to “unite the right” (white)

we end up with greed

racism

sexism

dominionism

and worse

we end up with petty cruelty

injustice

inequity

We who are privileged must be willing

To see our privilege

And let it go

For the cost of our privilege

Is simply too high

In the sacred economy, which is based on equity and love