Ain't One Of Us

Have you ever looked at a person and found they are not like you?  Discrimination is a big problem in today's world.  People are being discriminated based on sex, race, age, disability, learning ability or a number of other categories.  Why does this occur?  We all do it or think it.  I theorize that the problem is based on our outlook as humans.  The source of discrimination is the attitude people get that says "they ain't one of us".  When people take no group ownership of other people this causes discrimination.  We need to change our outlook of what our community actually includes in this day and age of global economy and global communication.

Its a matter of preserving the group or village.  Humans are community based entities.  We structure our society based on our concept of who we know and how we interact with them, whether it be practical interaction or cognitive empathy.  We naturally consider anyone or anything outside of the community as a potential threat.  We also show a blind eye towards the shortcomings of those in our community.  Therefore we have bias.  One of the first things we do with potential threats is that we demonize them.  We talk among our community and bad talk the potential threats.  Thus, this is where discrimination starts, and it evolves into hate and violence.

Modern man needs to expand his outlook and understand that everybody on the planet is part of his community . He needs to change his mind, from a mindset of living in just a local community to one that matches the structure of a global community working for the same thing.  Humans across the planet are generally working for freedom, economic success, and peaceful life.  We have disputes and wars, but these only stifle our efforts for our posterity.  It takes intelligence to recognize this, but it takes courage to do something about it. What are we really going to leave our sons and daughters with?

We all belong to one big village, Earth.  Look at the stars and count them.  Thus is the old old challenge to people and kids.  If you look at the sky through pictures of many space craft and telescopes eyes, you can see wonders beyond belief.  Super Novas, Gamma Ray Bursts, Nebulas, Super Black Holes are just a few wonders that are vastly greater than our planet.  If you haven't done so you might want to check it out at hubblesite.org.  You get the sense that Earth is an oasis in a desert of blackness and wild energetic stuff.  We are small, yet we are alive.  Earth is our planet and the people on it are our people.  If we are to continue as a society we must embrace this concept.  We need see how useless our petty infighting really is.  We must own all humans, animals, plants on Earth as our community, and as our village.

The realization that our community has expanded over the last 40 years can change our attitude towards others.  Our community is big and beautiful and its name is Earth.  We have global travel with the advent of the Jumbo Jet, and we have global communication with the internet.  We need to get rid of discrimination.  The first step to do that is to include everyone on the planet as part of your community.  This way you can interact with others with empathy.  This does not preclude steps you need to take to protect yourself.  You can empathize and protect yourself at the same time.  Empathy is the way to go.  In the area of relating to others, if you empathize you can engage people in a constructive way.  The time to change is now.


Disclaimer: This post is based on my opinions only.