making a change

  Racism. I hear it all the time now, "end racism." I hear editorials, testimonials and slogans concerning the issue of racism. I see it printed on the back of football helmets, sports jerseys and athletic shoes. The virtue signaling beaming out like the Bat signal! One can't argue with the sentiment of the message, racism is just wrong. The real issue with racism however isn't race, it's human emotions. A natural inborn, ingrained thing in the human psyche. If someone is different than yourself, you are curious, cautious, and ultimately suspicious. What is being touted as racism today is really perceived cultural differences. I say perceived because it is what we "see" as the truth, not necessarily what really is. To compound the situation often those perceptions are declared as "cultural" by the ones being perceived. Then the narrative becomes one of culture, and acceptance of that culture. Culture and race are not the same thing! That is the big confusion in my opinion. 

  But the mantra is end racism. Just how do we accomplish that? The only way it would disappear completely is if we were all the same race. But wait a second, we are! We are all Homo Sapiens in the scientific world, and we are being told to trust the science. So trusting the science it can't be a matter of race. That leaves what? Culture has to be the answer. And what comprises culture? The art, customs, traditions, and intellectual achievements of a nation or group of individuals. The difficulty lies in different cultures co-habituating the same town, state, or nation. So what needs to be ended isn't racism, it is cultural diversity. That's the only way complete and utter harmony will exist. 

 That isn't likely to happen! It could only exist on the mythical planet of Vulcan were everything is settled by pure logic. Homo Sapiens do not operate on logic alone, it is our emotional responses that motivate men. It is as I have pointed out on numerous occasions, "emotions are great motivators, but seldom good guides." As long as man reacts in an emotional way, conflict will be the result. When we project our culture upon others while rejecting theirs, conflict is the result every single time. So what is being said is a misnomer, the slogan should be, end cultural diversity! If we all share a common culture, conflict become minimal. It will never disappear completely as we humans are naturally competitive with one another.

 You could say this push for "common core" curriculum in the education system is an attempt at just that. If everyone is taught the same "truth" there should be no disagreement. Of course that requires a bit of a rewrite as far as historical facts go but we can make the story more palatable. It's a method of appeasement. What is the objective? Everyone is on the same page. It also requires you to overlook that every great civilization enjoyed cultural unity at the height of their progress. But then a change was initiated, diversity crept in, eventually acceptance of that diversity, and the collapse of the culture. The race of the people didn't collapse or change, the culture did.

  The bottom line as far as civilizations go isn't pretty. The most successful ones always subjugate other cultures, either incorporating them into the society or destroying them completely. America was called the great melting pot at one point in time. That is no longer the case. It was a melting pot when people from different cultures came to this land and melted into the culture of this nation. They did adopt the culture that is America. And yes that culture came from mostly European nations. A common religious belief being the primary motivator, along with the promise of prosperity. The latter statement could be debated as far as motivation goes, perhaps it was the promise of prosperity that was the prime motivator? It doesn't matter much though, the goal was a common culture. 

  The culture, meaning the nation, will cease to exist when there is no longer a commonality in the peoples. When each group begins to set themselves apart from the others, fragmentation is the result. Each group begins to struggle for power, for control over the society. Rules are changed, modified or completely abandoned. The reasoning will always be the same, it's progress, it's making things better. When cultures begin to allow anti-cultural sentiments and actions the culture begins to erode. Consider a simple premise. In our American cultural heritage the right to life is sacred. Yet, we have passed legislation contrary to that premise. A shift in culture? A marriage was a man and a woman, that went unquestioned for a couple hundred years in America, in our culture. Today that isn't the case, at least not in a legal sense. Indeed we have religious leaders performing the ceremony. A cultural shift? And now we have decided that the color of your skin defines your race and your culture. If any offense is committed against you by anyone of a different color, it is a racial thing. Even when those of the same color attack each other, it is because of a different colored people causing the problems. It is a racial issue! Yup, that's correct however, because we are all the same race. End cultural diversity and everyone gets along just fine. No one wants to do that though, lest it is their culture being discarded. Wars are fought over such. History is the proof, read it, understand it. Man, the human race, hasn't changed much over the centuries, it is culture that changes.