the sin of being American
In the first few seasons of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert did a recurring skit, then a best-selling book, called Midnight Confessions, in which he “confesses” to his audience with the disclaimer that he isn’t sure these things are really sins but that he does “feel bad about them.” While Stephen and his writers are famously funny, I am not, so my JC’s Confessions will be somewhat more serious reflections, but they will be things that I feel bad about. Stephen’s audience always forgives him at the end of the segment; I’m not expecting that – and these aren’t really sins – but comments are always welcome.
I’m guilty of being an American.
In the opening blurb for JC’s Confessions, I say that things I write about here “aren’t really sins” but this post will be an exception.
In Catholic theology, there is such a thing as social sin.
From the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
#118 Certain sins, moreover, constitute by their very object a direct assault on one’s neighbor. Such sins in particular are known as social sins. Social sin is every sin committed against the justice due in relations between individuals, between the individual and the community, and also between the community and the individual.
~~~from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website
Although this is a society-wide, structural sin, it mires all of us in the evil being done in our name and with our tax dollars. One needn’t look far to see the injustices being perpetrated on individuals, families, groups of people, and entire countries by the Trump administration, despite millions of us protesting against it and numerous findings of illegality by the courts.
Despite my own objections and (tiny) actions, I still bear responsibility for this sin. The truth is that I have benefitted from this system, in ways that others cannot. For example, my Italian grandparents and Irish great-grandparents were not considered “white” when they arrived in the United States, but their descendants with our pale skin and American accents found it much easier to fit into our society and find opportunities for education and employment. While it seemed that the United States had made progress in recognizing and redressing discrimination and prejudice against people of color and immigrants, those gains are being obliterated by the current administration on a massive scale.
One of the many insidious things about the current state of affairs in the United States is that too many people are not recognizing the responsibilities we have to each other as communities, as a society, and as a nation. While I happen to have a faith tradition that supports this viewpoint, in our democracy, our responsibilities to one another are the foundataion for everything. Our Constitution begins with “We the People.” It’s about all of us, not just the powerful or wealthy or Christian.
The Trump administration in its policies has made clear that they don’t consider themselves to be serving all the people, instead catering to the rich in economic and regulatory matters and punishing in any way possible millions of people who are immigrants, of color, LGBTQIA+, non-Christians, Democrats, women, liberal, progressive, residents of Democrat-led cities or states, experts in their field, or anyone who doesn’t support their agenda in some way.
Somehow, while I can see and acknowledge this sin and my part in these systemic injustices, those currently abusing their power in government, business, and communities refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, instead blaming those whom they victimize while excusing their own unethical behavior. A recent, outrageous example of this is the ICE/CPB aggression against protestors who are peacefully exercising their First Admendment rights, while Trump pardoned nearly all those who had participated in the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The Catholic Church does offer ways to seek absolution for our sins but these focus more on personal sin, not social sin. One aspect of seeking forgiveness for sins is that you are supposed to avoid committing that sin in the future, an impossibility with social or structural sin.
I realize that many of you, if you have managed to read along this far, may disagree with the entire premise of this post, reasoning that I’m not responsible for the actions of my government and society that I oppose. You may even be inclined to offer forgiveness. I do appreciate that sentiment and thank you for your support. Even more, I thank you for whatever way you help your neighbors and uphold human dignity.
We are all in this together.
*****
This post is part of Linda’s Just Jot It January. There is still time to join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/30/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-30th-2026/. The prompt for today is “cinnamon.” It’s one of my favorite spices and you may be wishing I’d written about that instead…
Joanne Corey 