Northwest Iowa’s congressional representative, Republican Steve King, is at it again.  An unabashed ‘champion of Western civilization,’ King relishes his role as the most ardent defender of the white race in Congress.  For a long time he displayed the Confederate flag on his desk in Washington, has called Hispanics “dirt” and recently met with a member of a far-right group in Austria founded by a former Nazi S.S. officer.  King is convinced that our white Christian values are under assault from minorities, women and members of other religions.  His great dream seems to be to rebuild the United States in the image of imperial Europe.

When a reporter at the 2016 Republican National Convention asked him about the lack of diversity there, King replied, “I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out, where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you’re talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?” And just last week, in an interview with the New York Times, King asked, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization – how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

How did concepts like white supremacy become offensive? One need only look at our history.  America was founded in an attempt to break free of the white Christian aristocracy that was strangling European society.  There only the rich were able to enjoy the fruits of Western civilization – otherwise why did so many millions of Europeans come here?  Our ancestors sought freedom from political, economic and religious oppression.

Yes, these people did bring European ideas to this country, and there’s no denying they oppressed the Native Americans, African slaves and any other group that was somehow different.  Yet history shows us that the story of America is the story of an unending struggle to realize our founding ideals – freedom from oppression and equality before the law.  And no, we aren’t there yet.

The Western civilization King champions is the same civilization our ancestors fought to escape – a civilization where a privileged few – white Christian males with lots of money – deprived everyone else of their fundamental rights.

The terms white nationalism and white supremacy are well documented historically as the terms used by the worst elements of the white race to justify oppressing minorities, women and the poor.  If Rep. King had actually been paying attention in history class, he would know this.

As their party drifts closer and closer to openly embracing King’s views, a few courageous Republican voices have been raised against King’s comments, including Wyoming congresswoman Liz Chaney – daughter of former vice president Dick Chaney – who called King’s remarks “abhorrent and racist and should have no place in our national discourse.” Not all Republicans seem to feel this way, though – Nebraska’s Governor, Pete Ricketts, has contributed to King’s reelection campaigns.

King’s views are no secret and Omaha World-Herald columnist Matthew Hansen asked in November why Iowans are dumb enough to keep reelecting him.  In response a woman from Harlan, Iowa, explained that people like Hansen “just don’t get it,” and went on to say that the “actual dumb ones” are those who vote “for someone without actually knowing where he stands.”

Everyone knows where Rep. King stands.  What’s frightening is that despite knowing about his “abhorrent” beliefs, Iowans keep electing him.  And Iowa isn’t that far away – geographically or ideologically.  One wonders, could someone like King find support on this side of the Missouri, too?

I recently visited with a young woman of mixed racial background – white, black and Native American.  Though she appears mostly white, she’s a little darker than the people around her.

And while this difference in skin tone is slight, it’s been a defining factor in her life.  There wasn’t a day go by in high school when somebody didn’t call her the N word, and even her so-called friends sometimes mocked her for her mixed ancestry.  One even drew a “funny” picture of her being lynched.  Needless to say, they didn’t remain friends.

This young woman’s grandmother is a full-blooded Lakota Sioux.  Unlike many of the Lakota, this woman’s grandmother has done very well in life and manages a large and successful company.  Yet recently a white woman accosted her, screaming at her to “go back to your own country.”  When she tried to politely explain that this was her country, the woman struck her in the face.

I have a little Native American ancestry and white people sometimes notice.  I can remember being taunted for it in school, and years later, when I had a good suntan, I was refused alcohol in Rapid City because they thought I was an Indian.  Both of these things bothered me – neither had anything to do with who I was as a person.  But this has only happened a few times, and not all the comments have been negative.  I can’t really imagine what it’s like to endure this type of racism and discrimination on a daily basis.

Perhaps it’s my Native ancestry that has helped me to not be afraid of people with different colored skin, and my life has been richer as a result.  I’ve never been treated better than by black, Native American and Asian people, people who welcomed me into their homes and their lives and made me feel like I belonged.

Thanksgiving weekend the young woman I’m writing about traveled to the Pine Ridge reservation (she did not grow up there) to receive her “Indian name.”  Surrounded by people she hardly knew, she was welcomed into the tribe and given a special name.  It was the name of a respected tribal elder who had passed away long ago, a woman who was still remembered for her kindness, her wisdom and her talent for needlework.  The tribe felt this young woman is growing up to be much like this older woman; by bestowing this respected elder’s name on her, the tribe is providing her with a role model for her life.

I asked this young woman how this made her feel.  She said the experience change her and that for the first time in her life she feels like she belongs somewhere.  She said that growing up not belonging left her broken inside, but that this is helping her “put the pieces back together.”  She said she still has days when she doesn’t know who she is or how to move forward.  But on those days her new identity helps her find her way.

People have a need to belong, and I wonder if our society sometimes does a poor job of providing this.  I know non-believers who join churches to feel like they belong somewhere, and I can’t help but wonder if this is why street gangs are so prevalent.  I wonder if this is part of the reason our society is becoming so factionalized – does identifying as a liberal or a conservative helps us feel like we belong somewhere?  It’s a shame, though, that just being an American isn’t enough to provide that…