If being "woke" is just too dreadfully arduous a task for you, then, at the very least, if you have any desire to understand why you are so fortunate to be an American, I ask you to undertake a mental exercise with me.
First, transport yourself out of this artificial, skin-based identity of "white" and imagine yourself to be simply a Human Being-American.
Now, place yourself in the body of an indigenous American, wracked with disease brought on by the recent arrival of Europeans, your entire village dying around you. This, even more than the constant Indian wars, is what "opened up" the continent for European settlement.
Your next role is that of a Black American, ripped from your African culture, forced to contribute hard labor to build the foundation of an historically great economy, momentarily freed, but immediately subjected to another century and a half of soul-breaking oppression.
You don't have to take on the responsibility for all of this. Guilt is much less important than the acknowledgement of truth. If you can at least go this far in understanding the involuntary sacrifices made on behalf of your country, then perhaps you can call yourself an American.
