Both ancient and latter-day "prophets" have predicted that the world would end somewhere around this point in history. Others have predicted, and even armed themselves for a race war. Responding to a fearful idea with more fear is one of the best means of "self-fulfilling" a prophecy if I ever saw one. Well, the world is still here, and in spite of occasional goading attempts here and there, "the war of the races" has not materialized. Yet, for some people the fear of such a conflict lives. Are such people so intent on being right that they will believe it into existence?
I've grown weary of this race thing. I'm through playing. Done. Finis. You can continue playing if you must, but I'll sit the rest of this dance out, thank you very much. It's 2000, okay? There are some wonderful and exciting things to look forward to and invest my mind and energies in.
Some people persist in viewing the world only through "race group tinted" eyes. It will be a glorious day when they see the light, realizing just how self-destructive and ideologically retentive prideful racial differentiation is. Prideful racial differentiation is another term for bigotry.
One day, for all us earthly girls and boys, reality will hit the proverbial fan. Then perhaps we'll all agree that playing the bigotry game, whether one assumes "top" or "bottom," or active or passive roles, yields no winners. The seeds to bigotry's end will have been planted. Its coming is accelerated with each additional person that chooses to set aside race-mindedness. In the meantime there will be no shortage of players in the bigotry game, "built" as it were, on the foundation of non-existing races.
It takes two "teams" to play "American Rules" bigotry. Perceptually speaking, the teams are categorized by racial group, with "whites" considered to assume the "top" position, and "non-whites" playing the role of the "bottom." The stakes are power or powerlessness, dominance or submission, wealth or poverty, success or despair, freedom or limitation, acceptance or alienation.
Once one is involved in the bigotry game, it is easy to assume that everyone encountered is a player, but it is important to note that this is not so.
Like racism, bigotry needs adherents who believe in discrete human race groups, and a hierarchy built upon race. There is no scientific, genetic, natural, or spiritual evidence to support such thinking. From all indications, we are all human beings, all with a full spectrum of human tendencies.
I do not choose my friends or enemies on the basis of their racial affiliation. I see myself as an individual who must learn to interact well with other individuals in order to realize my dreams. Life is what we -- in concert with those that have elected to share their experiences with us -- make it. This includes our respective positions on race, the acrimonious emotions that sometimes surround it, and the way by which the limiting aspects can ultimately be transcended.
While I'd like to see racism and bigotry end, it won't happen by electing to "fight" it. One must understand what feeds and nourishes the mindset, and then remove its fuel. In this case, a simple redirection of one's energies toward positive, constructive pursuits will do wonders, not only for the individual and society, but also for the transcending of society's perceptions about race.
One cannot discriminate against others on the basis of surface issues, and ever see the key to liberation that lives within them. An unwillingness to go deep with others, past surface appearances, blocks an individual from realizing their own highest dreams. Therefore, to play the bigotry game, as "top" or "bottom" is to remain a slave to one's own limitations, powerless to recognize, change, transform or transcend them.
Transcendence begins with a conscious elevation of one's principles and dreams, continues with individual awareness and realizations that are gained, advances through newly adopted behaviors, and spreads as others share and then benefit from new ways of thinking. If we resist acknowledging our innate connection with the formation and quality of our relationships, then the resulting "thud," when reality eventually "hits" the proverbial fan, will be more severe.
Let's take a closer look at the bigotry game board. The players come in all colors. They are people of all shades, genders, and sizes. Bigotry's behavioral "signature" is intolerance, which is one of fear's most popular disguises. One convinced that he or she is "right," a bigot is blind to reason and unwilling to consider other interpretations of the truth. The player's mind and heart must be blindfolded to the good that another individual might embody because of the bad (e.g., evil, and sinfulness) that they have been judged to symbolize. To play the game, the bigot must adopt a self-righteous disdain for, or even hatred for the target group.
A deeper meaning can be discerned by simply substituting the word similarities for "good" and differences for "bad." In other words, the bigoted mind must be closed to the similarities (hopes, dreams, ethics, values, potential, capabilities, etc.) that are shared with another group because of the differences (social, economic, language, racial, etc.) between them. It boils down to who we think is "like" you and me, who we think is "different" and how we have judged said similarities or differences. When our judgments are based on surface appearances, mythologies and innuendo, then they can sometimes be right, for there is an element of truth in all ideas. But most often they will be wrong, and can be cause of great harm… not only to the victims of bigotry, but to the perpetrators.
When we propagate half-truths, untruths, and outright lies that poison the minds of others with doubts and fears about someone else that we do not know, then we are instruments of evil. "The devil" does not make us do this, but playing the game of bigotry, intolerance, stubbornness and fear can. These behaviors can reign over the moment when we suspend our humanity toward others, building walls that prevent the closeness of spirits based on differences somehow deemed meaningful, such as the shade of their bodies, or variations of mind, attitude, sentiment, perceived ability, or belief. Herein lies the cause of most evil. It lives when we broadly apply a stereotypical belief to everyone who appears to share a common "set" of differences to our own. Evil is exacerbated when one individual condemns another individual that he or she doesn't really know because of their perceived "membership" in a social group that the condemning individual disdains or disrespects.
We can see realization breakdowns happening each day, as minds appear to be snapping regularly and logical, intelligent reason is thrown out the window. Demonstrations of "rage" -- on the road, in the air, and the work environment -- appear to be on the rise. Psychologists and psychiatrists line up to coin new clinical terms for what is basically boorish behavior gone berserk. Deep inside the bowels of pharmaceutical companies, chemists feverishly develop pills or other elixirs that one can "pop" or "drop," and be cured of the new illness. And if the consumer can lose weight at the same time, the prescription would be pure gold. But these measures do nothing to heal the real problem, which is the lack of care and concern for others, compounded by the absence of higher meaning in one's actions.
Ideological systems continue to live because we continue to give them life. They do not live outside of the life we give them. Bigotry is not an ideological system, but it gains its existence from them, such as the ideology of discrete racial groups, which supports their organization into a ranking or hierarchy. Because we believe in racial groups, and because we tend to associate material acquisition and control with value and worth, then those who "have" more, are perceived to be "worth" more. Relatively speaking, those who have less in material terms, wield power over relatively fewer people or assets, or have contributed less to the social milieu, are perceived to be worth less. Those who assume "top" roles in the bigotry game who believe this tend to be self-deceiving. Those who assume the "bottom" roles, often tend to self-destruct.
If we began to withdraw our energies from racialistic thinking and behavior, then the concept would lose its meaning. Our behavioral likenesses and differentness would then be interpreted in other ways.
While we cannot make another individual think differently about human racialness, we can alter our own social understanding by being willing to see people as they are, rather than, as they appear to be stereotypically. Depending on the ideology, we would put an end to the practice of assuming that a racial, religious, gender, social or political agenda is at play anytime a decision or action taken by another doesn't go "our" way.
We don't seem to know just how uniquely precious our opportunities to do wonderful things during our lifetime on this planet are… until reality sets in and we see that it is too late. Then, if we cannot find someone or something else to blame for our misfortune or sympathize with our malaise, then the weight of reality falls on us. And though it has no mass whatsoever, there is no greater "cross" to carry than an uninspired mind. Instead of zero, its "gravity" is infinity.
Consequently, there is no greater instrument of limitation than that of an individual with a hopeless, angry, empty mind… and no greater danger. Such individuals can be highly educated, and still be players in the bigotry game.
Fueling dehumanized behavior throughout history is intolerance and hopelessness in the quest for power and domination over others. Yet, the worse thing we could do in the presence of a hopeless, dim individual is to fear, ignore, or shun them. The best thing we could do is help them find their own value and meaning in this life, for everyone has a track that can be meaningful in a good way. We are not predisposed to evil ways, unless of course we have aspired to do harm, or see no hope for anything better.
Thankfully, another individual or group's differentness does not particularly bother me. It's what makes the world go round, and all. In assessing the people who might be dear to me, I am aware of the differences to understand and learn from. I also look for and usually find similarities, correspondences, and parallels. In those clues we can clearly see whether human values are present and active, or not. In such clues we can discern whether bigotry is present or whether the possibility of meaningful discourse and experience with this individual is alive and well. If so, and a connection is made, then another nail will have been placed in the coffin of bigotry.
Anyone who dehumanizes perceptions about other human beings, and who is unwilling to speak the truth from a knowledgeable position, dims their own light, thereby limiting their own wonderful possibilities. This is the hidden cost of bigotry that the bigot will never know… that is, the wonder of this life, and the hints that it "hides in plain sight" of that which is beyond. Such a costly price to pay for clinging to prejudice and fear, not even knowing it.
There is a "race"… human. Beyond that, we are all examples of its many expressions and permutations. Like bigotry, racism cannot exist without people who believe (1) there is more than one race, and (2) that it is "better" or "worse" to be a member of one of the believed races versus another. This double tiered myth can act like quicksand to the hopes of impressionable minds that begin to think they have an in-born advantage, or disadvantage. Truth is that we are all capable of filling our lives with meaningful accomplishments. But it cannot happen if we do not first care for others as we care for ourselves. It's impossible to care for someone else without regard to his or her race, and yet play the bigotry game. Let's give it a try.
Adam E. Abraham @
Phaelos Communications:
Publishing - Music - Entertainment
It's 2000 at long last; a long anticipated, and to some, a time laced with great anxiety. The numerical changeover from "19__" to "20__", and the phenomenal growth of the Internet, have forced a wave of examination and reassessment throughout the world. Organizational, business, government and social systems are changing as the people that run them, or live by their rules demonstrate changes in attitude and sensibility. As we see the world change, now is a perfect time to reflect on the state of the individual today, our place within it, and on yet another long-anticipated day. That is the day that we can celebrate racism's death, when people of all colors can agree and rejoice that racism exists no more. Would that mean the end of social ills? I think not. But it would certainly end a very large and persistent excuse from which certain social ills spring.A Widespread Phenomenon
The bigotry game is a widespread phenomenon. Americans tend to view bigotry in primarily racial terms. Though bigotry is exercised in many ways, by peoples throughout the world, we will concentrate on the American Method.'Going Deep' to Transcend 'Race'
Racial transcendence is that state where the individual begins to direct their energies and form their alliances more so on the basis of inner substance than on surface appearances. It requires a willingness to "go deep" in their involvement with others: deeper than color, deeper than culture, into the soul of one's personality, to the seat of their highest hopes and dreams. It also requires that one allow their own highest hopes and dreams to be known by others, that harmonious alignments and connections can be formed. In order to make such connections, negative, self-defeating, self-destructive attitudes and fears must not be set aside; they must be transformed.Elevating Principles, Values, and Dreams
All beliefs aside, all social conventions notwithstanding, and with due respect to all traditions, our life boils down to the values that we have either come to hold dear, or have placed under "house arrest." The interpersonal "slings and arrows" that we encounter and experience with others along the way are most often of our own co-creation, or instigation. This is not bad news if taken in the right context, for the joy and love that we share and experience with others is likewise of our own co-creation and elicitation.Bigotry as 'Equal Opportunity Evil'
The road to recovery and healing of our personal demons which -- when given life by blind allegiance to animus and hostility -- become social ills, begins when we acknowledge that bigotry is an "equal opportunity" evil. Any individual can be a bigotry game player. It matters not what racial, religious, economic or sociological niche we define ourselves by. And when we are, then we are contributors of the moment to the larger social problem.Sunrise on the End of Bigotry
One day, reality will set in on the bigotry game. Experience will open each player's mind. Hopefully, the opening will be a merciful, compassionate one. Problem is, if we don't embrace attitude changes of our own volition then the realizations that we eventually gain will be hard ones. As much as we may try to avoid it, the "piper of consequences" will nonetheless have to be paid whether or not we see or accept the truths that spawned them. Hard experiences are the byproducts of realizations that were hard to come by. They exact a physical, mental, and spiritual toll in the form of what could be termed, realization breakdowns.Ideological Systems and the Search Within for Meaning
Higher meaning is gained when we embrace ideas or concepts that are not only individually satisfying, but are also socially important or beneficial. Invention, innovation, creativity, acquiring and using our knowledge to render services that improve the quality of life, are just a few ways that meaning is gained. In other words, by giving our thoughts, energies and support to a concept's advancement, we help others as well as our self. This is how all the great and lasting ideologies of our time were begun, including religions, mathematics, social and applied sciences, inventions, and even our systems of commerce and government. They all live because someone conceived and believed in them, sometimes fought rightfully and died wrongfully for them, and they were eventually embraced by society. Democracy and capitalism are meaningful ideas that likewise emerged from such battles.'Pull the Plug' on Animus for Mental and Spiritual Health
I mean no disrespect to the memories of the evil that men have done to each other, but much of the animus that we demonstrate toward each other today has no basis in our own reality. Instead, we keep it alive simply to keep it alive, not knowing that we can put many of our own social diseases to rest, simply through the process of becoming more spiritually healthy ourselves. Spiritual health does not depend on adopting a religion, and adopting a religion does not obviate the possibility of spiritual health. However, if we are open to it, seek and embrace it, then spiritual health will facilitate mental health. We will become less inclined to needlessly put ourselves in harms way, and more inclined to learn from the many and varied teachers who share this wonderful planet with us at this point in time and space.Exit Stage Left: the Habitual Victim
There are people among us who have had relatively little to really stress and fret about in their lives. Yet, they magnify the smallest glitch in their life routines into the greatest of catastrophes, and ask anyone who will listen to "understand." It has become chic and profitable these days to "out" one's self as a victim, as we try in vain to explain our obsession with meaningless behavior, and the seduction of negative attitudes and activities. We ask others to understand and accept us as we are when we don't understand and accept that they prefer not to deal with our adopted neuroses.Knowing One's Enemies by the 'Color' of their Deeds, Not Skin
The flip side of being a player in the bigotry game is that it also blinds us to our real enemies, many of who may look, and on the surface, think and act just like us. Such people are easy to see when principles rather than politics or trends guide us. Anyone who casts aspersions at others they do not know demonstrates their own ignorance, which is the seed of bigotry. When ignorance is "nourished" by fear, the path of divisiveness is taken.Also by Adam E. Abraham:
Racism: 'Ubiquitous' No More
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