On Racism as an Addiction
I had the good fortune of hearing Professor George E. Tinker, Native American theologian, speak on the matter of violence and war in the United States. Though it has been decades since I heard him, I remember vividly his analysis of our relationship with violence as an addiction. He said that getting over an addiction takes as long as the addiction existed. That idea has always stuck with me, and I believe it is a useful paradigm for us when…