As I am approaching my 52nd Birthday, I thought I would share my view on how we can learn to live together in a more harmonious manner. The basis of my observations were derived and verbalized from a World History Professor in college. Here was his question :
Q - How many races are there in the world?
Response from the class – there were several numbers thrown about like black / white / yellow / brown. Many students tried to quantify the nationalities … but all were incorrect and were based on CULTURE instead or race. The correct answer?
A – ONE – the HUMAN Race
I brought this thought with me as I experienced the opportunity to travel the world in the US Navy and have validated this answer in a real, practical way. Regardless of our origins, cultures and nationalities, we are the same. We have the same feelings, the same desires for our friends and families, and the same search for inner peace. I believe that if we remember this tidbit of information and respect the views of others (whether in Texas, Glasgow, Montreal or Baghdad). AS many of you know already, I have been in places that most people DREAM about (this includes nightmares as well – haha) and by talking WITH the locals, I noticed that they were individually interested in my thoughts and were impressed that I was interested in what they thought. This does not mean that they expected me to always agree with them or patronize them with candied or soft words. Honest and respectful exchanges of beliefs and view were more often accepted than confrontational approaches or pacifistically avoiding the issue. Even when we agree to disagree. Do you catch the common denominator in this approach, yet? R E S PE C T.
I think that once we realize that we have the same basic needs and desires and the only the currency of those desires differ, then ( and only then) can we address how we can integrate our worlds and societies and cultures into a melting pot of cooperation and progress. Too many times we allow others (media, politics and anonymous rumors) to shade our expectations and views of someone based entirely on clothing and/or skin pigment. Please notice that I am talking about individuals instead of an entire culture. This is because culture is based on historical events and not always on present-day observations. Cultures are tinted by fear of the unknown. Once the unknowns are breached, a new perspective should be evaluated and this may begin a NEW culture. This is a continual process improvement exercise and will probably never reach the ultimate goal of “nirvana “.
So in conclusion, I ask that you take the time to learn what your fears and prejudices do to slant your view. Evaluate those fears and address the issues with honest questions on “Why” . Talk WITH (not just TO ) people and learn their views and analyze how their thoughts may influence us all. Then adopt your new perspective as your new culture. (repeat as necessary) . REMEMBER : NO one is as good or as bad as we perceive them.
As always, your views and comments are always welcome:
May God Bless You and Yours
Gene
What I learned in Biology is that there is only one race. The human race. My experience has shown me that we are more alike than different. Trying to sort people into us and them creates artificial boundaries. Good observations about respect. Thanks.
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