Right away, I made my choice.
I realized something about myself today that I don't like and that I'm going to change.
The thing is--just about everybody's been conditioned to be racist on some level, whether by social conditioning or blatant discrimination. And though most people probably aren't actively racist, if everyone were to seriously examine themselves they'd probably realize the same thing.
Case in point: tonight we had a Filipino missionary come and speak to us. He's a really cool guy--speaks several languages (I think he said he learned four beyond his native tongue). And while he was talking, I kept thinking, wow, this guy is really smart for someone from such a primitive society.
Then--it was the proverbial lightbulb in my head. Their society may be primitive, but that doesn't mean they're stupid people. Does anyone else get trapped in the mindset that a lack of technology means that the people are stupid? I mean, we laud people like this guy who happens to know more languages than the average American as the exception in these cultures rather than the rule. And certainly, he may have a higher IQ than most--but by "most," I mean most people in both his society and ours. But doesn't it follow that most people on the face of the planet are just as intelligent as, say, myself? Wouldn't the average nineteen year old of, say, India attend at least a community college after graduating High School were he given the financial resources?
So maybe I'm the only one trapped in this mindset. Or maybe it's a common misconceptions among all Americans. At any rate, I've realized something--lack of schooling doesn't mean stupidity (nor does education imply intelligence). Just another thing I'm going to have to consciously change in my brain.
The thing is--just about everybody's been conditioned to be racist on some level, whether by social conditioning or blatant discrimination. And though most people probably aren't actively racist, if everyone were to seriously examine themselves they'd probably realize the same thing.
Case in point: tonight we had a Filipino missionary come and speak to us. He's a really cool guy--speaks several languages (I think he said he learned four beyond his native tongue). And while he was talking, I kept thinking, wow, this guy is really smart for someone from such a primitive society.
Then--it was the proverbial lightbulb in my head. Their society may be primitive, but that doesn't mean they're stupid people. Does anyone else get trapped in the mindset that a lack of technology means that the people are stupid? I mean, we laud people like this guy who happens to know more languages than the average American as the exception in these cultures rather than the rule. And certainly, he may have a higher IQ than most--but by "most," I mean most people in both his society and ours. But doesn't it follow that most people on the face of the planet are just as intelligent as, say, myself? Wouldn't the average nineteen year old of, say, India attend at least a community college after graduating High School were he given the financial resources?
So maybe I'm the only one trapped in this mindset. Or maybe it's a common misconceptions among all Americans. At any rate, I've realized something--lack of schooling doesn't mean stupidity (nor does education imply intelligence). Just another thing I'm going to have to consciously change in my brain.