Went to the beach today and it was very nice - good to get away, but still glad I'm not going to be voyaging very much this break. Gave me some time to think about this privilege issue.
It's quite arrogant for me to call it privilege. I didn't really define privilege in a context. It's very much financial privilege. It's having opportunities that others can only hope to have in their entire lives. And so by being born in America, I have a ton more opportunities than someone born Mozambican. The point is, I shouldn't feel guilty about that any more than a Mozambican should feel slighted. Someday, the situation may very well be reversed. I feel that my obligation as someone who has opportunities, is to make the most of these opportunities and possibly give them to others, so maybe they can give opportunities to even more people.
Maybe this is part of the truth I'm always seeking, that our spirits are defined by how we can express them - just like a genius will sound like a first grader in a new language, a society that has no outlet for being a good teacher, an honest politician(!), etc., will never produce one. The opportunity isn't there.
Peace
John
