History Bookclub DEC 2021

Caste: The Origin of our Discontents

BOOK REVIEW

Hopefully the first review of many

The Inspiration

Tonight is easy. A couple of nights ago on Tuesday, December 14th, 2021 I had my monthly get-together with my History Bookclub. I promised in a previous post titled “Are You Free” to provide a review of the books we read. This is attempt number one.

The Setup

This month we finished 2021 with a challenging book. What makes a book a challenge? It can be challenging because (1) you don’t like the topic of the book or (2) you don’t like the style of the writing or (3) the writing is poor. Caste was a challenge for a different reason. When I have time to read, I can often stay at it for extended periods. Caste was such a challenging topic that I found myself reading it in small doses. At about 500 overall pages, after my first session, I decided I would read it in fifty-page doses.

While not strict, when I encounter a book like Caste, I read it in manageable doses and round up to the end of chapters. Our book club is non-fiction-focused. One of my hopes/goals with these books is to learn something. To that end, my practice of reading non-fiction only is to back up 5-10 pages where I left off to get back in the flow. Fiction is a lot easier on my head in a lot of ways. Sometimes these books are full of difficult names, and lots of dates. Hitting some of it twice helps me stay with a dense book.

What’s It About?

I read Isabel Wilkerson’s previous book “The Warmth of Other Suns”. The author is serious in her scholarship and based the story of the migration out of the American South of approximately six million African Americans over a period from 1915 through 1970 to the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West. In many ways, this is an Exodus story out of bondage not unlike the Book of Exodus. The quality and breadth of the book were wonderful. The purpose of this post is about her second book. I will merely say that reading the first guaranteed that I would seek out her next book.

Before I read this book I could not come to terms with why there was such a desperate focus in the United States for so long on anti-miscegenation. We all recognize the prevalence in Nazi Germany and the racial purity laws. It was disheartening to UNDERSTAND the connection and inspiration we provided to that period.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, once I had my approach was an easy book to read and I appreciated the detail and scholarship. The book, in a nutshell, characterizes the connections between the Indian caste system, the American creation of a nation built upon the institution of slavery, and finally the methodology of American focus on miscegenation as a durable means to never change and entrench caste in our society. This focus was inspiring to Nazification in Germany in the 1930s. It is disheartening to understand that when Germany was developing the plan and method to achieve the elimination of the Jewish people from earth, they looked to America for their inspiration on how to slowly bring the people along in a way they would accept. The 250 years of slavery and the creation of so many lines in our society were the blueprints. Connecting these disparate observations was powerful and also heavy on the heart as you read it.

The word race has been a top-dead-center term in so many books. It seems a necessary component to more fully understand the history of this country and other places. What I was struck by was that the two accompanying structures of Hinduism and caste in India, and the Nazification of 1930s Germany structurally were never about race. I think the greatest achievement of this book is to recast the reader’s perspective to examine caste versus racism and try to understand both the difference and the consequence of the difference. For this alone, this book is remarkable.

Is it Worth a Read?

This book has only a single fault in my opinion. It is difficult to focus on caste yet largely ignore the catastrophe of apartheid in South Africa. The Afrikaaners constructed a comprehensive caste system within Africa. The South Africa story is rooted in the knowing and unconditional cover created by the Dutch Reform Church. Every step of the way, the Church provided the inspiration and justification for policies enforcing an utter lack of humanity. I consider the scant coverage from the book a serious gap. This, however, is not a fatal flaw. The book requires commitment and leaves a mark on the reader. I believe the content is transformational in that sense. I expect to read it again as the opportunity presents itself. I may have read others but I know that both Isabel Wilkerson's books were on Oprah's lists. Perhaps it is time for me to be more open in reading more of those recommendations.

When a book strikes me as particularly relevant, I try to examine what it challenges and what it reinforces in my current beliefs. I have given a lot of consideration recently to why people embrace conspiracy theories. More to the point, I wonder why something can be obviously false, but if it is part of dogma or a mantra, perhaps integrated into a religion, it may take centuries to unwind. What is it about how the brain operates and rigidity enforces even the most unlikely of options? It is almost as if the brain cordons off certain things and discussion, facts, and reason cannot easily penetrate. One of the finest movies I can recommend that makes the point more eloquently than I can is “The Master”. One of the largest challenges I can present to all is the fact that ALL MAJOR RELIGIONS, at periods in their history, condoned slavery and it was their dogma that was leveraged to create long-standing institutions. I am familiar with the role of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa but the same is true of all of the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) throughout history. In the case of the Indian caste system, the involvement of Hinduism has been critical. These changes are not “long in the past and time to move on” as apologists insist. The Mormon Church began fully recognizing full membership of African Americans and acknowledged that they had a soul in 1978. Credit is due for changing their positions but it is very important to understand that humans align under the authority of their childhood and the results can be tragic. The best predictor of a faith tradition is generally who your parents were and where you were born. Long after individuals begin to question the legitimacy of a policy, an anchoring religion provides a gravitational pull that our minds cannot escape. Without hyperbole, this can be a massive barrier to justice in some cases. I maintain the faith tradition of my youth and it has been an important element in how I see the world and most importantly how I see those most in need.

What I Learned at the Meeting

The turnout was great for our last meeting of the year. There were eleven of us in all. In addition, one or two shared their views of the book remotely. The reviews of the group in attendance were exceptional. I was struck by how many of the members shared a personal anecdote of how they were raised, where they had lived, or what they had seen. The book was methodical and some of its points were driven home and it affected the readers. I think a non-fiction book club expects to learn something and this book did not disappoint. It presented history not heard or previously ignored. The consensus of our group as we had experienced a wonderful book.

As is so often the case, the opportunity to remain silent and actively listen to so many unique perspectives you had not considered yourself is the underlying strength of the club. It was clear that our member who nominated the book had strong opinions about the relevance to life in America in 2021. Her points were simultaneously cogent and emotionally delivered. The strong consensus of the attendees made this one of the highest-rated books of the year.

While the premise of the book focuses on caste, I remain optimistic. I believe a book of this sort illuminates a different way of thinking, and for that alone, this is a book of great value. Alas, as I see the rising up again of school activism, and restrictions on what may be taught, I fear that those that would benefit most from what this book can demonstrate, will remain the most obstinate in examining its content. Here is a song that focuses on the progress of the past that perhaps we may build upon.

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