…today’s secret…”Screw Caste.”

Whenever someone opens up a statement with the verb ‘Screw’ it’s an indication of displeasure. The next word, or series of words, become the focus of that displeasure.

I say, “Screw Caste.”

Yes, I like it when a one-word verb targets a one-word noun. It’s hall-of-fame worthy for writers.

However, the impact of the chosen verb and noun are directly proportional to the reader’s understanding of either or both words.

The easy part here is the verb ‘Screw.’ A verb synonymous with sex…it is a waaaay softer verb than other sex verbs.

Caste, on the other hand, is not as easily understood.

Caste is an artificial, arbitrary ranking of human value. Any number of metrics can be used to establish people pecking order …gender …race …religion …lineage.

Humans have been dividing societies forever to establish and control social order. See Holocaust.

Our Founding Fathers dream was to stop the caste system by writing that we are created equal with rights from God. They wrote these words in spite of living in one of the greatest of human caste categorizations – slavery.

Their hope was that we would grow into their words…that history would belong to all of us, not there for us to like, dislike, erase, or rewrite…but to learn.

So, as a country, we have always been a work in progress. And, from time to time, it gets real ugly. Like now. There are forces among us who believe our past caste system is also our future.

My hope is that we will find a way to individually and consciously work against those attempting to favor some groups and exclude others…that our rights do come from God and the role of government is to protect those rights where everyone has the right to love and be loved regardless of their birth or circumstance.

So, I say again, “Screw Caste.”

However, every week I add to the pro caste thinking that some people are better than others by using the word ‘marginalized.’

A marginalized population is a caste. I can easily rattle off fifteen marginalized population examples. No problem.

Being marginalized identifies you as a group of people whose commonality is living on the fringes of society.

I hate the word marginalized. However, I use it, and its variations, every week somehow because it is a mental shortcut for my readers who have little time to read what I write.

Marginalized is also a word that works for you. Identifying the people you are helping through some common characteristic helps you clarify your purpose, communicate more effectively, and raise funding.

I get it. I just don’t like it. Why?

By us referring to anyone ‘marginalized’ we strengthen the storyline that caste systems have been and are a necessary evil in human history. It makes us complicit in upholding a hierarchal stereotype that humans can and should be ranked somehow.

Again I say, “Screw Caste.” But what am I to do?

Unfortunately, I will continue to use the word marginalized in my writings and presentations. You too, I suppose.

However, here’s my request.

I would ask that when we do refer to someone being marginalized that we know in our hearts that the word is only a mental shortcut and what we are really doing is helping every soul we can find their true worth as made by God.

And, maybe tomorrow, we’ll find a way to do better.