My Indoctrination

It is up to me to change, to demand change, to work for change.
I am committed to this work. 

Having said all of this, I confess that my indoctrination started early and continued through my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood.
History lessons focused on Western Europe, the colonies, and the United States of America - the “City on a Hill”. All of this was taught from a White colonialist point of view. 
Art history focused on artists and art forms from Western Europe and the United States.
Music focused on . . . yep, you guessed it, Western European and US musicians.
The only literature classes offered in my high school were British Literature, American Literature, and the Bible as Literature. 
Church life was focused on colonial ideals of mission and a White-centered worldview.
The theologians studied and referenced were all White Western male theologians.
The hymns we sang were written by White Western composers. 
The unholy trinitarian alliance of Christianity, democracy, and capitalism dominated everyday life.
The television shows, commercials, and movies starred people like me.
The cultural heroes who were celebrated and elevated as exemplars looked like me.
People like me (White, male, cisgender, heterosexual, middle class, Christian, citizens of the United States) were taught we could be anything we wanted to be, and the world revolved around our desires and wishes. Every room belonged to us, and no one could stop us from getting what we wanted.

No one individual is at fault for all of this. This is how the system is built, and it is designed to perpetuate itself. The curriculum was written from this perspective. It is insidious. 

It is how indoctrination works. 

It is how we have gotten to where we are today.

It is my responsibility to work toward change. 
It is my responsibility to demand something different.
It is my responsibility to learn from BIPOC, 
to read literature from their hands, 
and to promote their voices.
It is my responsibility to change.