A Word from Bob: You’re reading Part 1 of a blog mini-series on One America; Two Experiences. I’ve taken my thoughts from chapter 10 of my book Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction.
2 Competing Narratives of the American Experience
As I talk to friends about the ongoing racial tensions in the US, many are perplexed. A Caucasian friend recently shared with me:
“It’s like we’re talking a different language when we talk across racial lines.”
Not long after that conversation, an African American friend shared:
“When I talk about race with my White friends, it’s like we’re from two different planets. It’s like we’re aliens to each other in need of a universal translator.”
My friends are onto something. And it’s not just a recent development. From the very founding of America, Blacks and Whites have maintained two drastically different views of the American Experience.
In this series, I’m hoping to help us understand each other better by helping us to understand our long-standing different perspectives on life in America.
The Free Northern European White Male American Experience: “The Promised Land”
The idea of an American “national narrative” drawn from Scripture
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
