Help yourself to "The Help"

In between reading the "deeper philosphical books" I try to vary my reading - and often have 2 to 3 books on the go.  So before finishing my "morality" book, I read "The help".  It is a book about the black maids of middle class white women in the American south around the late 50s and early 60s.  It views these lives through two of the maids themselves and daughter of one of the employing women.  The book was written very well - got you in and kept you there - as it described the process of writing a book about..... the lives of the maids!  A book about the writing of the book.

So what was it about?   On the surface it was about class structure and racism - and entrenched attitudes.  The author seemed to be saying how thin the line actually was between the two groups - maids and mistresses - compared to the societally constructed "reality".

To some extent we see the same between say migrant moslem women and western 'Christian' middle class Eurpean decendants in Australia.  There is a political, religious and socially constructed  divide - accentuated by the hijab or burkha - but maybe only a very thin line of difference in reality.  How do we see past the way society conditions us to think of others?

"Born again" Christians construct a difference between themselves and others: saved/unsaved; found/lost; in the kingdom of God_light/Kingdom of satan_darkness; saved/unsaved; forgiven/unforgiven; going to heaven/going to hell etc.  It is very threatening to many to consider that only a very thin line (if at all) separates them/believers from unbelievers.  The constructed gulf becomes wide - emphasing what they have in Christ versus what they (and the unbelievers) would not have if they were not in Christ. [And this is similar in other religions]. It fractures the human family. Breaks the natural empathy and love that should/could flow bewteen people.

The boat people - again a political and socially constructed distinction.

So the book "the help" has a message that can help us - not to repeat the dehumanising class/ethnic/ faith distinctions that are built up and which many of us accept and embrace because it becomes a "norm" rather than something to be challenged.