A religious exercise

My brother and I (both MDs) made sure our parents died at home.  My father was alert, comfortable and rational right up until the end in his 101st year.  Family visited and he and I watched a lot of pro football together.   One shot showed a bunch of half naked fans, torsos painted yellow and blue, yelling and screaming. He turned to me and said “this is a religious exercise”.

So it is with the course at Smith given this past fall titled “White Supremacy in the Age of Trump”

Here’s the course description: “This course analyzes the history, prevalence and current manifestations of the white supremacist movement by examining ideological components, tactics and strategies, and its relationship to mainstream politics. Students research and discuss the relationship between white supremacy and white privilege, and explore how to build a human rights movement to counter the white supremacist movement in the U.S. Students develop analytical writing and research skills while engaging in multiple cultural perspectives. The overall goal is to develop the capacity to understand the range of possible responses to white supremacy, both its legal and extralegal forms.”

This isn’t about Trump or white supremacy.  It’s about original sin, something baked into western religion since Genesis, particularly here in New England

“In Adam’s Fall We Sinned All” is from Benjamin’s Harris’ 1690 New England Primer.

You do not need to perform a sinful act to acquire original sin/being born White.

The students/congregants taking the course are devotees of yet another religion — secular progressivism.

It has all the bells and whistles of a hard core religion

Belief in miracles required of the faithful — men can have babies.

Incontrovertible dogma — sex is a social construct

Heresy and expulsion — saying boys shouldn’t play sports with girls

Witch trials — accepting the testimony of all females as true about sexual harrassment — the Duke Soccer team, Brett Kavanaugh