By 2015, one would have thought, based on history, that the human race would have become so much more evolved than we have become. I say that in the nicest terms possible, really I do, but it is hard to deny the fact that sometimes, our behavior and treatment of each other mirrors the kind of human behavior that once caused terrible wars and persecution. And yet these kind of actions have become the norm.
When did it become acceptable to bring back derogatory terms for other races and cultures as an everyday term? Why is it necessary to throw themed parties specifically around culturally appropriated stereotypes? And why in the hell is it perfectly acceptable for a Presidential candidate to believe that building a wall and throwing back all immigrants will be the best way to keep out illegal immigrants?
Would our ancestors really have pictured us progressing this slowly back then? And don’t get me wrong; each generation has had their share of racially charged and ridiculously biased issues in each period of recorded time. And each period had to deal with their choices and decisions and find a way to make changes and compromise. Sometimes, these changes would come easily, and other times, they would occur after horrendous injustices, the latter being the most difficult and painful type of change to make.
So how is it that, after a Civil War that divided the nation, a movement for women’s rights, a movement for minority rights, a movement for immigrant rights, and a movement for LGBTQ rights, our nation STILL can’t quite make it through one day without a new cyber movement because someone somewhere did something so heinous that attention has to be brought to it. People have worked hard and given their blood, sweat, tears, and entire lives for the cause of ensuring every citizen has basic human rights and is treated fairly. Laws are passed to make sure people have opportunities to feel safe in their own homes, and yet they are still targeted on every turn.
It seems to me that in the past three years, we have gone back in time instead of moving forward. We are stuck in a rut as a human race. We literally cannot move forward until every one of us is moving in the same direction. And the very worst part is that this is an age of technology, where information can be spread in a matter of milliseconds. Anything you could possibly want to know can be found if you even just have the access to a television or the internet. According to census.gov, roughly 8 out of every 10 Americans have access to the internet, therefore giving those Americans no reason, in my opinion, to not have some basic knowledge about who they share the planet with that might be a little different than them.
And I know that statistics say one thing about human behavior and science says another and history says something else too. But humans also act with a combination of instinct and compassion; something that differentiates us from animals. Something that gives us the ability to form deeper connections and thoughts and feelings. That’s why we have been able to develop the way we have. I believe that we just lack guidance. We just need something or someone to make things clearer; to help us think for ourselves again. That step is simple: educate yourself.
We are inquisitive by nature, and therefore seek knowledge regularly. If my grandmother can realize when she does not know enough about a person and their culture that she should ask someone who does or take to the internet to find an answer, then there really is no excuse for anyone else. In particular, people my age, who were raised in a time and place where acceptance was much greater and diversity was rich. There is no way that someone who is 21, as I am, has never interacted with a person of another race or culture or belief. Growing up from the 1990s onward has provided my generation and future ones the chance to be the educational system to end bias hate.
Our generation has not only the tools but the abilities and the power to make things better. We are the people who can teach the past generations and mold the future ones. We can make it so that our grandchildren never have to wonder if they will be discriminated against each day because of the color of their skin, or the orientation of their sexual preference, or the God they believe in. Worlds have turned on such thoughts, so why not send the world we live in spinning off its axis?
