Good morning and happy belated birthday, America. Land of the free, where we're all equal and happy and everyone gets along...right?
I have a couple of things on my mind today. Throughout the festivities of the holiday yesterday, I feel like I saw more racial diversity than I've ever seen in Northeast Ohio. I've recently come across some individuals who probably wouldn't approve of that fact, which shows that racism is still very alive in our oh-so-free America.
This genuinely upsets me. What gives any of you the right to stereotype and judge someone based on physical characteristics pertaining to race? And what is it about human nature that keeps racism an abundant factor in our social hierarchy since the beginning of time? Some people today blame it on the fact that they were brought up in racism so they "can't help it." No. As I stressed in my last post, you can "help" everything you encounter.
Here's something I picked up on yesterday while I was happily surrounded by a colorful myriad of human beings. At the beach, I walked by an Asian dad with his beautiful daughter and all they were doing was laughing. I didn't even know they were Asian until I turned around to see what was going on. As I was focused on my feet hurting from walking on the massive debris and rocks in the sand, a family of Mexicans started laughing hysterically because the youngest child dropped his hot dog. I don't necessarily see the humor in that, but the fact that they were all laughing and glowing made me realize...every single race has something huge in common. Something none of us can go a day without, something every one of us can understand, and something that can potentially bring us all together: Laughter.
We all love to laugh. We're all fluent in the language of laughing. It's the one thing we all have in common, which brings me to the point that in some way, we are equals. In that one way, we're in it together.
Anatomically speaking, there's really no reason for us to judge and discriminate. If we were all blind and deaf, there wouldn't be any such thing as "race." It's undeniable that there are people that are clearly different from what you see in the mirror, but why do we have to hold that against them? In my opinion, I like to consider us all one race with subdivisions of varying cultures. Stereotypes, however accurate or inaccurate, fuel the fire for racism--but that's exactly what they are. Stereotypes. We shouldn't blame a nation for the actions of an individual, but that's exactly what people do best.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that racism could be avoided. It will never be, but it could be. If only human nature was completely different. So, next time you see someone of a different race and think bad thoughts, just remember: They might laugh more than you do. So who's really worse off?
Smile a little,
Shannon
