Awakening the Socially Unconscious | Linda Brendle

It seems that movies have the effect of raising my consciousness about racism, at least enough to write about it. I watched “The Help” last night. It was a wonderful movie, funny, heart-rending, inspiring, uplifting. But it also evoked vague feelings of guilt, a familiar feeling for us codependents who feel responsible for everything, even the things we had nothing to do with. I certainly had nothing to do with any of the situations seen in “The Help.” Mom and Dad worked hard to provide the things we needed as we grew up, but our lifestyle was anything but lavish. Our home more closely resembled the homes of the maids than the mansions where they worked, and no one I knew had hired help except one family whose house I never visited. But I still felt a little guilty because I was so unaware of what was going on in a lot of the world. It makes me wonder what kind of injustice is going on now that needs my attention.