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Where are you in this frenzy?
If you have watched any national news headlines within the last two weeks you have no doubt witnessed the feeding frenzy on the apparent succulent man made portions called racism. Just like sharks who smell the blood or sense the idea of a being in a weakened or compromised state our media and so called watch dog groups come full bore in hopes of getting to the sacrificial prey first and hitting hardest. Lately our predator instinct for the guts of race issues are in keeping with our oceanic counterparts. The only difference is at least sharks occasionally investigate the situation while determining the fate of the wounded. We are so off balanced on the issue of race, we forget it is a mindset not a person.
When you look at the pathetic state of American politics and the words our elected leaders and other political hopefuls are reduced to using; it's a wonder you can find children of mixed races and cultures peacefully playing together anywhere in our country. There was a time that when you traveled by airplane you were dressed as though going to church. Now you literally see people wearing pajamas and flip flops. I totally get it, times change and so should people. There was also a time that politicians and ministers took a moment and thought out the results of their words and actions before employing them. By the looks of recent headlines those times and these people have also changed. The caveat is, both of these types of leaders are held to an authority and will be made accountable at some point.
But what about the rest of us? What is it about the human nature that makes us watch the same news tragedy for six hours on end until our eye muscles ache and we sense a cold vacuous sensation that summons us on to the next source of stimuli? The recent headlines with Ms. Shirley Sherrod seemingly make her the victim, but I am sure that Ms. Sherrod is at peace with life as it currently stands. Fate had already appointed her for greatness. She probably has reached the point in her spirit where she now mourns for the character of the country she calls great. From the perspective of the world stage, here we go again eating ourselves from within. This is what cancer does. It eats away at everything vital to survive. This is also the ultimate form of modern day terrorism. We are actually being attacked from within.
August of 2007 marked the 40th anniversary of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's address to the American Psychological Association in San Francisco seven months before his death. As most of Dr. King's addresses toward our nation's social issues this was also ahead of its time. Dr. King asserted that Racism would prove to be a mental illness and a health risk and a public health problem. Thomas A. Parham, PhD, professor of Psychology at the University of California at Irvine, and an APA panelist along with Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, assistant professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and a member of the APA Board of Directors; agree with Dr. King's prediction that racism and other forms of prejudice are not only costly to individuals, they are costly to whole communities and to society at large.
Social scientists agree that it is incumbent upon the individual to implement change in the wind currents of our minds relative to thoughts on race. One's perspective on race needs to be three fold: yours mine and the truth. We all have a story to tell based on our personal experiences. If we stop for one moment to ask, let alone listen to the stories of the people we dislike the most we would find a thread of commonality some where in their words. We all want to be loved and feel that we belong to something that makes us secure. How much of our comfort zone are we willing to give up to reach across to bridge the gap between us and them. If we were to look at our phone's contacts list; how many of the personal contacts look and think just like we do? Are the folks who have different sounding names and hair textures limited to a professional context? When was the last time you sat in someone's home for dinner or invited someone to your home for the same as a means of becoming more familiar with their story?
Do you secretly get a rush when you see or hear of an unbelievable story where someone actually had the nerve to say the things you've only imagined people saying just before a horrible crime was committed? Let's make it more personal. Are you offended when you hear someone say on the other side of the glass what you have already thought in your head? Here's hitting below the belt: How would you feel if your son or daughter were to fall in love with someone of an ethnicity you know least about? Would the news coverage regarding that sect of society influence you?
It's said that if the chain smoker's lungs are not yet beyond repair, their body immediately begins to heal itself of the potential cancer when the smoker extinguishes their last cigarette. The mind is not nearly as forgiving. The Power of Perspective says the beauty of a willing mind is that it can become its greatest healer or its own terminal illness.
