Last night, I was a panelist in a forum on race, gender, and religion at the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education at Fordham University. One question that was raised, in light of the present election, is "What is a ’real American’?"
My response was that such a question is one that Christians are not obliged to answer, insofar as it is a question predicated on an intolerable social exclusion. The question is typically raised in American discourse to gain leverage as a form of punishment of certain classes of people.
Later I thought that there are other such questions that Christians are not obliged to answer, insofar as they too are typically prefaces to intolerable exclusions: Is person X gay? Do you love your country? Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?
Rather than answering, Christians can ask how the questions themselves have become acceptable forms of discourse.
Tom Beaudoin
Bronx, New York
