Random acts of equality Waiting to enter school one morning during the 3rd grade I was being bullied by a few kids who kept tormenting me and shoving me back and forth. To my surprise, another kid stood between me and the other kids and then beat up two of them and gave me a hand up. I looked up to see a young man with a darker complexion than mine and I was a bit taken aback. I had never met anyone of a different race until that point in my life. Not only did that young man defend me but he got in serious trouble for doing so. He and I became friends, but soon after my family moved away and I never saw him again. I wish I could find that man today and thank him for the perspective he gave me that has lasted a lifetime. He showed me that our differences don’t matter; character does. That single moment of altruism erased any hate in my heart that could have ever taken root. Later, as I was growing up and some of my white friends would say racist things, I could never go along with it because I would remember that day in the school yard and it felt like a betrayal of a kind person who stood up for a nerdy little kid he didn’t even know. I never quite saw people the same after that. To me, everyone comes one at a time and I choose to try not to look at the outward appearance, but judge them as Martin Luther King Jr. taught us to do: by the character of their heart. There is a lot of talk about equality these days, but I don’t think anyone ever stops to think what that means. As an absolute, it is not rational. All of us are have our talents and unique personalities that make us who we are and some of us are more skilled or talented than others. Equality will never mean that we are the same; that would remove the purpose for personal ambition and achievement. Absolute equality is not something that will be possible, nor should it be our goal. When you look at the governments of our world and see our little tribes that have now become nation states with militaries and budgets that vie against one another for dominance and power. The nations of our world are vastly different in many ways and this leads to cultural misunderstandings and far too often, to war. In America, there are various movements fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised, and while this is laudable it is only a crack in the dam as far as the world is concerned. The arguments are centered around the rights of those within the borders of our nation while outside this country suffering and starvation are a stark reality for many whose plight makes the battles for things like gay marriage and women’s rights look like a walk in the park. Victories achieved in our political system seem like a mere drop in the bucket when contrasted against the struggles facing humankind across our tiny planet. The lines that divide us seem so impossible to overcome when we see the scale of inequality on a global scale. It can be so overwhelming to so many of us that we become cynical and settle into passive nationalism and write off any concept to unify the human race as too idealistic. Personally, I believe it can be done, and it’s a lot simpler than we think. Advocates against systematic discrimination, bigotry, and racism often fight their battles by seeking to blame another group for their problems reverting to the same tribalism that caused the discrimination and division to begin with and we just go through cycles of violence that reverses the pendulum from one direction to the other. For thousands of years we have seen this play out back and forth with some progress being made from time to time, but yet when you look at the world you can see the lines of our division clearly demarcated. All it took for me to see the world differently was the kind action of one person. This is exactly how the change we need has to happen. You can have all kinds of movements and political lobbying but until we change minds and hearts, equality is just a word. Each of us has to learn to think differently about each other and strip away the pretexts that we are inclined to hold and accept one another for who they are; that is true equality. This has to occur on a much larger scale if we are ever to achieve equality for everyone. Our political discussions can no longer view a child in the Sudan any different than a child in our own town. When one person is suffering oppression or hunger none of us is truly free. Unless we start to think this way, equality is nothing more than an empty sentiment filtered through nationalistic lenses. Until we live in a world where we see our differences and accept one another in spite of them and work together we will face eventual self annihilation. So, in the spirit of the young man who inspired me, I offer my own solution: one person at a time, one mind at a time we change each other by showing that our kindness and compassion isn’t bound to our race, nationality, or gender. If enough people did that we wouldn’t need a political movement to ensure equal treatment for everyone, it would flower on its own from the understanding that comes from relationships built on a mutual benefit for the future of us all.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 03:27:40 +0000
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