New Essay on America

[tcgtrf]

Lily and Raven's World

An Essay on the Future of Race in America

I spend a lot of time, now, on the brink of despair over the decline of our nation and our civilization. Understanding the situation feels like being a character in a Stephen King novel who sees the monster approaching and is constrained from doing anything but shouting of

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I would like to see humanity outgrow racism.

Based on my observations of humanity, alas, I suspect that if this happens, some other devision will be erected to replace it. It's like the guy who goes from being a drunk to being a crackhead to smoking tobacco et cetera ad nauseam. The problem isn't just racism. It's prejudice. I don't see humanity kicking that any time soon.

Re: Thoughts

[tcgtrf]

The problem with humanity outgrowing prejudice is that it's only a good idea if human progress is monotonically becoming more enlightened. This isn't an assumption that can be easily made from observation. There's backsliding all of the time, historically.

In our past, the ability to "prejudge" the tribe, group of traders, or explorers coming down the road as either likely friends, enemies, or trading partners kept our ancestors alive. The world has only become safe for a small percentage of people for a tiny percentage of the human span on earth. It is necessary to remember that we are, right now, in the midst of such a safe zone.

We are descended from people who made the correct prejudgements long enough and often enough to allow them to produce children. I wouldn't knock this ability.

Tom

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> We are descended from people who made the correct prejudgements long enough and often enough to allow them to produce children. I wouldn't knock this ability. <<

Traits which were advantageous in the past can become troublesome in new circumstances. Like, say, when we have weaponry capable of demolishing not just civilization but the whole biosphere. Our bigoted little lizard brain did not evolve with that parameter, does not comprehend it very well, and keeps rattling the sabre. I look at America irradiating the Middle East with depleted uranium dust, India and Pakistan growling over the border at each other, and the "us vs. them" stakes have gotten unpleasantly high. This does not fill me with confidence regarding our species' survival.

Re: Thoughts

[tcgtrf]

Considering that the asteroid that knocked off Australia at the end of the Permian was 25 km in diameter and the biosphere started cranking out dinosaurs within a million years, I have no doubt that the planet will continue rotating with a population happily eating each other long after we are fossils

[_stag]

Heritage is something we give our children.
Race is something we inflict on them.

-me

[gardenpriestess]

Thank you. You've clearly expressed what I've been observing for a while.

There likely will continue to be prejudice in one form or another for a long time. But as the ethnic prejudices of the 19th century passed as people of different ethnicities married and produced a new generation, so the racial prejudices of the 20th century are passing.