Some days, I wonder if I’m living in the sixties, even though I was born in the seventies. It seems that our modern day world is still attached to the conditioned thinking of the past. While humanity has evolved technologically and otherwise, we still seem to hold on to things that hinder our true potential as human beings. In 2009, America elected President Barack Obama. Many foolishly believed that America had evolved beyond its dark history, yet the problems of our past still persist.
The unfortunate reality is that we’re still enslaved to ideas and concepts which date back several centuries — ideas which have influenced us to live segregated lives based on assumptions and illogical concepts about life and people. We are not a free people until we work together to confront the fallacies which shackle us to fantasized paradigms. We must first accept that we’ve been dead wrong about race for too long. Science has proven that human beings are all alike, contrary to what we’ve learned. Some may argue genetics, while others argue phenotypes to support their views. While everything has its place, the fact remains that we’re 99% alike. We all share a branch of commonality and familiarity. What we deem as differences are simply the result of the homosapien’s adaptability to different environments around the world. It is really this simple.
Do you recall the first time you referred to someone by their race? How old were you? How did you learn to refer to someone as such? Chances are, you didn’t arrive at this on your own, but you simply repeated what was eventually ingrained into your subconscious mind by your parents, teachers and society. Deprogramming ourselves of race is the only way to evolve beyond it. So, what can we do now to get there in about one-hundred years?
Here are a few ideas:
1. Abolish race-based interests: We cannot realize a race-free society with programs, groups, and other self-interests which promote and support any race. The goal is to create a social fabric which is fair and balanced, and we cannot achieve this as long as these interests exist. Yes, humanity has suffered at the hands of oppression, but we need to evolve to a higher level of consciousness and awareness to defeat what hinders our progress to real freedom in society as human beings.
- Racial classification
- NAACP
- Rainbow Coalition
- Action Network
- Targeted networks, magazines, and newspapers
2. Educate and motivate: If we are to achieve a race-free society, then we must re-educate the people about their perception of race. Globally, race is a well-defined social constuct, and effective communication is paramount to breaking the mold.
- Public Service Announcements
- Community outreach initiatives
- Political support
- Curriculum for schools and universities
- Corporate and government support
3. Practice “equal thinking”: If human beings were created equal, our standards and practices should reflect such. There shouldn’t be divisive language like a “majority” or “minority” as it relates to identify groups of people. We are all the same. There are no superior groups of people.
4. Protect the innocence of the future: When children are born, they are innocent and open-minded. Let’s keep it that way, as they are the future of a race-free society.
5. Word of mouth: Communicate and share often. Help your family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances realize the fraud that race is and the harm it has caused humanity over the past few centuries. Introduce them to material, research the truth about race, and help them understand. The above thoughts on achieving a race-free society is just a start. The initiative will require the collective power of thousands and millions of voices standing up for the truth and enabling each other to evolve beyond this mold of deception. We cannot pretend. We cannot ignore it. We cannot sit idle. We cannot be comfortable. We must take action. Today. Life was never intended to be this way. It is up to you to help steer our way on a path to healing and enlightenment.
Can you hear the call for a race-free society? Do your part. Think outside the box. Challenge your own thinking and worldview. Do the same with your friends. Be a good neighor. We can change the world by changing the way we think, one person at a time.
More reading:
Wikipedia: Popular concepts of race
Ron -
You have written an interesting article with a unique take to this important question. I agree with many of your points regarding how identifying by race has negatively affected our society.
Genetically speaking, yes we are all essentially the same. However, when factoring in the combination of other attributes (intelligence, desires and interests, physical makeup, etc.) all of us are as unique as snowflakes.
My opinion is that we will never truly move past race if we continue to put so much importance on identifying ourselves in this way. If we instead focus on identifying ourselves as inviduals and what our role in society is (teacher, doctor, entrepreneur, writer, musician, etc.), we will see that the level of respect for ourselves and others will elevate substantially. Our actions are what ultimately defines us. We don’t do this by “re-educating” the masses to ignore, or worse yet, pretend race doesn’t exist, we do so by allowing people to be themselves and pursue their dreams.
Race will never go away as it is a physical descriptor and a slice of the large pie that makes up the individual. What can go away is the use of race as the unique identifier for oneself; a path that leads to self-stereotyping and groupthink. The United States has made great gains in overcoming race, but there are still people that place merit in the skin color they were born with (or descriminate against others for). The challenge is to foster the idea that what you do with your life is more important than what physical appearance you are born with.
Thanks again for raising the question.