CLEARLY I AM AN IDIOT...

Okay so I’m an idiot, a moron, or at the least an extremely naive person.  This I say because based on discussions with some others I certainly must be all of this and more to believe that we are one single species of a single origin with wonderful variety in culture, appearance and ethnicity AND that at some point we can act like it; act like a single species of a single origin.  I must be totally idiotic, moronic, naive and a bit insane to believe that these racial/cultural/ethnicity driven prejudices can be overcome, if not in our lifetime in some generation in the near or even distant future. 

I know that many share my naive moronic idiocy in regard to the issue of 'race' which if nothing else gives me great hope for the future of humanity.  But are there enough of us to make a difference today?  I guess that is the question of the century; how many people does it take to shift the paradigm so that unity becomes the norm as opposed to this hateful, unwavering and most often violent separation based on appearance, ethnic origin, skin color, religious affiliation, culture, sexual orientation and gender.

It is easy and for some supported by science/psychology to explain away the hate, the division, the need for judgement and subjugation.  Sure, if science/psychology says that all of this is simply human nature let’s go with that; let’s never make any attempt to change our nature as a specie, let’s just accept it as it is and never do our part in improving it for ourselves or for anyone else. After all, humans haven’t changed a smidge in our nature since we first walked upright, since we lived in caves, since we were hunter gatherer’s, since most of us believed the world was flat…we are just exactly the same now in every conceivable way as we were then, right?  So, let’s just all accept it as something we can’t ever change and hide in our little groups of similar people that make us feel comfortable without ever knowing anything about other groups except that they are different than us in some way and therefore are to be feared or at the very least hated.  That sounds logical, doesn’t it?  That sounds as if that’s a grand idea, isn’t it?  That'll make a world we all want to live in, won't it?  A real paradise to raise our children in where they are safe, are loved and find no prejudice don't you think?

Is my frustration obvious?  Does it seem as if I feel like giving up? Well, there are times when I absolutely feel like giving up.  Times like when I reach out to people who are different than myself and they accuse me of being a racist because I haven’t been fully, formally and properly educated about their history…so of course I can’t ask them questions, I can’t try to understand their position as humans and I can’t try to figure out how best I can support them as they go through their daily lives full of discrimination, hate, disrespect and attempted subjugation. 

Being white these days is becoming a burden in that so many that were born with white skin are seen as the enemy by some people of color due to the racist attitudes and actions of some whites who have gone before us. Because of those who believe they are superior by virtue of the accident of their birth of being white some people of color find it impossible to believe that any white person could ever understand them, be empathetic to what they’ve been through or support them. NOW DON’T, and I mean DO NOT, think I’m trying to garner sympathy for the burden of being born white, because I’m NOT. I completely and totally recognize and understand the unequaled privilege that sadly has come with being born a Caucasian human being in this world. I just know of no other way to express my frustration in being born white and being labeled along with the whites who don’t have a clue and who do behave poorly as being racist simply for not knowing, for not having been exposed, for not being NOT white.

Here’s the thing for me and I’m not kidding, not saying it to sound cool or loving or open-minded or caring or special or anything; I am a citizen of the planet Earth, a human being related to ALL other human beings, FIRST AND FOREMOST before I am a Caucasian, a woman, a wife, an American, an atheist, a pit bull advocate, a NASCAR fan, an animal lover or anything else that I might feel describes, even if only in part, who I am and what I am about as a human being.

I am NOT beating my own drum here. 

I am NOT bragging to be cool.

I am NOT trying to suggest that I am better than anyone else who might not feel as I do. 

I am NOT trying to garner admiration or even agreement. 

I AM just making the statement in the hope that some others will be inspired to give what affiliations in life come first and are most important to them some thought and perhaps to choose to put HUMAN at the top of the list and to LIVE day by day in their real life as if we are all related, of the same origin and ALL deserving of basic respect, a harmonious life and all that life has to offer.  Maybe I'm hoping to get those who feel the same as I do to live as if being human was far closer to their heart and to who they are at their core than being whatever their ethnicity is.

ONE HUMANITY

ONE WORLD