When our children were small, they enjoyed looking at the Where’s Waldo? books. You may have seen these puzzle books where the object is to locate Waldo, a brown-haired boy with a red and white cap, in a huge crowd of people all engaged in their own activities at a given location, like the beach or Hollywood. It was a challenge to find Waldo because the figures drawn on the page started to blend together and look the same. All the other cartoon people were doing interesting, familiar, and sometimes funny activities, and distracted by looking at everything else, we forgot the goal of the puzzle: finding Waldo.
These past few weeks have been a time of repentant introspection for me in light of the protests over racism that is still far too prominent in our country’s narrative and systems. As I’ve listened to black women activists and read more about white supremacy and white privilege from credible sources, I have begun to see more clearly how the systems and stories in our country support white people, especially those with power and authority. Like the Where’s Waldo? books, it’s easy to be distracted by the familiar and comfortable, overlooking how longstanding systems are failing those most vulnerable. We forget that we’re a group of people, mostly descendants of immigrants, who believe that all people are created equal with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The words of the Founding Fathers, who were deeply flawed themselves, were pointing toward a bigger outcome: becoming a better human being by learning to live so all may flourish.
I’ve learned much from listening and reading, things I would never have noticed if I hadn’t taken the time. Systems and stories don’t change overnight, and I would be fooling myself if I said I’ve completely changed my own deeply held narratives. But I’m paying attention now, looking closely with a broadened understanding that the reach of this will encompass my own relationships with loved ones. You can’t help but change the way you see and hold those you love best when you change the way you see and hold other human beings, especially those different from you. Taking responsibility for yourself, being willing to acknowledge when you mess up (and you will), and trying to make it right are all ways we move individually toward wholehearted human beingness. Collectively, these same behaviors can help move us forward toward a more inclusive culture.
We might not see Waldo (or racism/prejudice/bigotry) every time, but we might meet the goal a little more frequently by changing the lens we use to view our world and the systems that run it. Thanks to the work of those marginalized and suffering in our midst, I now see, at least a little bit, how much further I have to go.