14 | MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020
opinion dukechronicle.com
The Chronicle
America’s original sin T
he United States–most especially the United States political system and religious systems– seems to have a knack for misplaced selfrighteousness and a perpetual confusion of the difference between what means to be pious and what it means to embody holiness.
cornerstones of this nation. Or, maybe more aptly put, one of its original sins. Since the inception of this nation, those in power have conflated their own belief systems with the proper ones, which is not shocking.
any other group of people they have come into contact with. These behaviors have most often been “justified” through the idea of holiness and God’s ordination. When the Indian Removal Act was signed, it was supported using Manifest Destiny; slavery and segregation were validated using a multitude of passages in the Bible, but most especially the Curse of Ham and, like I wrote about in my last column, same-sex SEARCHING FOR CANAAN marriage has been railed against consistently on the basis that the Bible condemns it. This phenomenon is nothing new; in fact, However, these persons and groups If historical examples seem far off this confusion and misplacing of emotion have relied upon a system of plundering, or obviously wrong with hindsight, could probably be considered one of the pillaging and brutal domination over most then perhaps we should look at a more contemporary example…Mmm let’s say, I don’t know… hot take of the week The Supreme Court Justice nomination and confirmation hearings, maybe? The conservative Supreme Court “Please don’t put Phoebe Bridgers on. I will cry.” nominee, and the majority of the Senate —Matthew Griffin, Editor-in-Chief, on October 25, 2020 likely to confirm her, acts from a place that assumes her opinions are faultless. At face value, it is not odd for Amy Coney Barrett– or any other person, for that matter–to trust in their opinions or beliefs. The issue arises when persons such as Coney Barrett act if their opinions hold holy ordination that is just seemingly Direct submissions to: unbeknownst to the rest of us. The Chronicle welcomes submissions in the form of letters to the editor In the case of Coney Barrett, her E-mail: or guest columns. Submissions must include the author’s name, signature, confirmation hearings seem to have left chronicleletters@duke.edu department or class, and for purposes of identification, phone number and local abortion rights, same-sex marriage and address. Letters should not exceed 325 words; contact the editorial department Editorial Page Department climate control legislation hanging in the for information regarding guest columns. The Chronicle balance, not only because she dodged nearly The Chronicle will not publish anonymous or form letters or letters that are Box 90858, every tough question, but also due to the promotional in nature. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit letters and guest Durham, NC 27708 manner in which she dodged them. columns for length, clarity and style and the right to withhold letters based on Phone: (919) 684-2663 Most every response offered by the the discretion of the editorial page editor. Fax: (919) 684-4696 Supreme Court nominee held a sense of incredulousness to it, as if her stances on important legal matters being analyzed were a ghastly offense. Est. 1905 Inc. 1993 For example, when asked if voter intimidation and suppression were legal MATTHEW GRIFFIN, Editor based on federal law–which they without EVAN KOLIN, Sports Editor a doubt are–Barrett answered, “I can’t MARIA MORRISON, Managing Editor characterize the facts in a hypothetical CARTER FORINASH, News Editor situation, and I can’t apply the law to a MONA TONG, Assistant News Editor hypothetical set of facts.” ROSE WONG, Senior Editor Setting aside that I am pretty sure JAKE SATISKY, Digital Strategy Director facts can’t be hypothetical…the sense of SIMRAN PRAKASH, Photography Editor superiority comes not so much from the MIHIR BELLAMKONDA, Opinion Editor words themselves, but from the tone that SARAH DERRIS, Recess Editor they carry. Barrett sidestepped the existence CHRISSY BECK, General Manager of a law, while simultaneously making it seem like the senator posing the question REBECCA SCHNEID, Sports Photography Editor SHANE SMITH, Sports Managing Editor was in the wrong, showcasing an air of selfJACKSON MURAIKA, Assistant Sports Photography Editor MASON BERGER, Video Editor righteousness and superiority. AARON ZHAO, Features Photography Editor MARY HELEN WOOD, Audio Editor BELLA BANN, Photography Social Media Editor This leads me to ask: why, or perhaps NADIA BEY, University News Editor MARGOT ARMBRUSTER, Opinion Managing Editor LEAH BOYD, University News Editor even how, did these American leaders such as NICHOLAS CHRAPLIWY, Opinion Managing Editor PRIYA PARKASH, University News Editor Coney Barrett, and American institutions– VICTORIA PRIESTER, Opinion Managing Editor PREETHA RAMACHANDRAN, University News Editor ya know...Congress, Senate, the United SYDNY LONG, Recess Managing Editor WILLIAM HE, Local and National News Editor States Justice System, the whole foundation BEN WALLACE, Community Editorial Board Chair ANNA ZOLOTOR, Local and National News Editor of the country pretty much–come to RYAN WILLIAMS, Community Editorial Board Chair ASHWIN KULSHRESTHA, Health and Science News Editor form themselves in a way that presumes SHANNON FANG, Equity and Outreach Coordinator MICHAEL LEE, Health and Science News Editor faultlessness, while also causing damage and NADIA BEY, Recruitment Chair STEFANIE POUSOULIDES, Investigations Editor disenfranchisement to the masses? JAKE SATISKY, Recruitment Chair JAKE SHERIDAN, Features Editor It’s not just racism or perverted senses TREY FOWLER, Advertising Director CHRIS KUO, Features Managing Editor of religiosity that made these heinous JULIE MOORE, Creative Director JOHN MARKIS, Senior News Reporter occurrences possible; it is a fundamental The Chronicle is published by the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., a non-profit corporation independent of Duke University. The opinions issue with the structure of American belief expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of Duke University, its students, faculty, staff, administration or trustees. Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board. Columns, letters and cartoons represent the views of the authors. systems. To reach the Editorial Office at 301 Flowers Building, call 684-2663 or fax 684-4696. To reach the Business Office at 1517 Hull Avenue call 684-3811. To America’s legacy is to believe it is always reach the Advertising Office at 2022 Campus Drive call 684-3811. One copy per person; additional copies may be purchased for .25 at The Chronicle Business office at the address above. acting in a righteous manner. From its @ 2020 Duke Student Publishing Company inception through to the present day, the
Tatayana Richardson
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United States of America continues to believe that divine ordination supports its oppression of marginalized bodies. In reality, the guiding principle of this nation has never been true righteousness, or even holiness, but rather a deeply perverted sense of piety accompanied by a terrible case of self-righteousness. See, holiness is not about showcasing correctness; it’s about experiencing sacredness. It is meant to be an endeavor that is meant to draw one away from pain, exhaustion and strife of the world caused by sin, while simultaneously drawing one in closer to whatever Deity and spiritual practices one engages in. More importantly, to engage in practices and acts that are truly holy is a deeply personal experience–meaning that there is no cookie-cutter holiness formula or way to create it through “stadium hype” or mass production. With this understanding, it would be nearly impossible for the power structure of this nation (or any other, for that matter) to ever be anywhere near acting from a place of holiness. What is very possible, and is the case in the United States, is for the power structures and leaders to act from a stance of piety. A healthy sense of piety still works in tandem with holiness, but American piety stems not from devoutness, but instead from selfrighteousness. This has resulted in a perversion of the idea of piety, from an act of obedience to a Deity into a zealous devotion to a hierarchy based in domination and domineering, that uses faith as its scapegoat. While it would seem that the logical step would be to ask how to untangle or create a redefinition of the American systems, I would argue that this sense of misplaced self-righteousness has grown with American institutions and power structures so closely that it is at this point innate to them, and more than likely cannot simply be redefined or easily disentangled. To truly disentangle America from this misplaced sense of domination parading as holiness, we as a nation must be willing to engage in a true sense of community that demands we occasionally set aside our own belief systems to hear and listen to those of our neighbors (the ones we like, and the ones we might not care for so much). Such as in the case of Duke’s Eruditio et Religio Living-Learning Community or the Voices for Interfaith Action group, being called into community doesn’t require us to agree with one another one hundred percent of the time, but does call us to recognize humanity in one another and to treat that humanity with respect and compassion. This, if done with true and honest intentions, has the capability to pull this nation away from its misplaced self righteousness, and toward a beloved community.
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Tatayana Richardson is senior who thinks that NPR underappreciated news source. “Searching for Canaan” runs Mondays.
a Trinity is a deeply Her column on alternate