“Ella, what did you think of Douglass’s view on Christianity?” I gulped.

Increasingly powerful
palpitations throbbed in my heart as my eyes darted around the classroom – searching for a
profound response to Dr. Franklin’s question. I took a deep breath while reaching the most
genuine answer I could conjure.
“Professor, I don’t know.”
Dr. Franklin stared at me blankly as he attempted to interpret the thoughts I didn’t voice. My
lack of familiarity with the assigned text wasn’t a consideration that crossed his mind because he
was familiar with my past contributions to class discussions. I was a fervent critic of the
corrupted culture behind Christianity of the Puritans in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”
and modern evangelicals involved in the puzzling divinity of Donald Trump. He arched his
flummoxed brows as he began to open his mouth.
“Professor, what I mean is that I’m not sure whether or not I even have a say on Douglass’s
statements on Christianity in his Narrative of the Life.”
In class, I often separated the culture of Christianity from the religion. To tie these immensely
disparate concepts as one and coin it as Christianity would present fallacies that contradict with
the Christianity I knew. Lack of tolerance and hostility were products of humans’ sinful nature –
not the teachings of Christ. People were just using Christianity as an excuse to exalt themselves
rather than the holy name of Jesus. These were the “facts.”
My greatest realization came when Douglass declared Christian slave-holders as the worst slave-
holders he ever met because of their deceptive feign of piety and use of Christianity to justify the
oppression of their slaves. I realized that I couldn’t bring myself to raise the same argument that I
used to convince myself that my Christianity of love was the only true Christianity. To Douglass,
Christianity was the opposite. I didn’t want to dismiss his story. People use this sacred religion to
spread hatred, and to many, this is the only Christianity they know. Their experiences aren’t any
bit falser than mine.
Christianity isn’t the only culture that harbors truth that transcends the “facts.” America’s less of
a perfect amalgamation of different ethnic cultures and more of a society severed by tribal
conflicts rooted in the long established political culture of the nation. Issues such as racism,
white privilege, and gender disparity are highly salient topics of current political discussion.
However, during a time when people can use online platforms with algorithms that provide
content they want to see, we fail to acknowledge the truth in other people’s experiences and
express empathy.
My protective nature drives my desire to connect with different people and build understanding.
To do so, however, I step outside my Korean American Southern Baptist paradigm because my
experiences do not constitute everyone else's.
As a Korean-American in the South, I am no stranger to intolerance. I remember the countless
instances of people mocking my parents for their English pronunciation and my brother’s stutter.
Because their words were less eloquent, people deemed their thoughts as less valuable as well. I
protect my family and translate their words whenever they have a doctor’s appointment or need
more ketchup at McDonald’s. My protective nature drives my desire to connect with different
people and build understanding. To do so, however, I step outside my Korean American
Southern Baptist paradigm because my experiences do not constitute everyone else’s.
Excluded from the Manichaean narrative of this country, I observe the turmoil in our nation
through a separate lens - a blessing and a curse. Not only do I find myself awkwardly fixed in a
black vs. white America, but I also fail to define my identity sandwiched between Korean and
American. In the end, I find myself stuck amongst the conventional labels and binaries that
divide America.
“You seem to work harder than most to understand other people’s points of view,” Dr. Franklin
said after I shared these thoughts to the class.
“I find this easier because I spent my childhood assuming that my culture was always the
exception,” I replied. As an anomaly, accepting different truths is second nature.