Sexism, racism, classism, and plenty of other –isms are alive and well in our society. We tend to think that things are coming along swimmingly, and that our biases and prejudices as a society are diminishing. But the spectre of intolerance still lurks, and with an federal administration that seems hell-bent on moving us backwards, we have to be more intentional in our efforts to promote the equality for all mantra upon which our nation was founded.

I live in Minnesota, which has been considered for some time to be a fairly liberal state, one with many progressive thinkers (notwithstanding our current mystifying slant to the dark side with Norm Coleman, Tim Pawlenty, and a slew of others). Even so, I can on an almost daily basis hear folks conveying fear of and slurs against Mexicans, women, homosexuals, Indians (Native and “Far Eastern”), Muslims, etc. It’s not isolated. It’s not a thing of the past. Anyone that denies it is either a) naive, or b) lying to themselves.

We recently had an adult education session in church to discuss this topic, and shared anecdotal stories. Virtually every adult out of the 25 or so present could relate a recent incident of prejudice (racial, cultural, sexual, religious) that they had witnessed. It was disturbing to hear how prevalent intolerance still is in our society, yet also a wake-up call that we have a lot of work to do.

Our own government is engaged in a poorly-concealed campaign of injustice against Muslims, racial profiling is rampant, and women are still penalized in the work place merely because of their sex.

Injustice is alive in America. Do we really want to be the “Land of Liberty – For The Select Few“? I didn’t think so. Stay vigilant. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Promote justice for all.