Open doors

It is hard to look at someone who seems to be acting out in a prejudice way and think that they deserve love. It is difficult to listen to language that speaks against another person or group and find care in your heart for the person behind the voice. It can feel like they are purposefully building walls to block you from having a view or opinion that is different from their own and to find a way to connect to one another. But as soon as you stop telling them your story and sharing your thoughts with them in a calm reminding way, then you are putting up walls too. 

If you were taught that a certain group of people is less than you from your early childhood, then it will be difficult for you to change that belief without interacting with people that can open your eyes to a more balanced view. Sometimes a person with a prejudice towards a group of people will get to know someone from that group and they will learn to recognize their equality. But often it is their peers that will have the best opportunity to help them see that their prejudice may be part of a misguided belief system. 

Changing such views will most likely not happen over night. It occurs through conversations about the group that a prejudice is held against and observation of others kindness and open minded understanding towards the group. The level of prejudice has fluctuated in the world over the centuries. There are still areas where prejudice seems to rule a communities actions, but around the world we are hearing voices of reason and understanding. These voices speak of equality based on the idea that the value of human life and it's efforts should be balanced by something more attuned to the time they have invested in keeping any part of society in order. There can be a world where we recognize that every person has a lifetime and that lifetime holds the same value in every aspect, regardless of family, education level, job or workplace. 

If we can help others to see that each life span holds an equal value, then we can stop focussing on what makes us different, or assumptions of what gives one person's life more value and another's less. We can change the process of evolution from survival of the fittest to survival of the human race as a group of caring individuals working together for the betterment of all. We can help others to understand that prejudices only hinder our development, because they stop us from seeing the potential that an individual or group holds in adding their talents to the structure of society. 

It is when we choose to take the time and energy to help someone see how we can connect and grow with every group that we will find a prejudice shrink within us all. If we do not open the door and let them in to see how we are united in action with people from every walk of life and how it betters our existence, then we are only adding another layer of prejudice into the world. It is difficult to show care when facing a person that comes across with anger, aggression or simply benign prejudice. But when you can talk to them and let them see prosperity through connecting to all, they will grow a better understanding of the world and see more clearly how each person has an equal value through what they bring to society. It may take time, but it will happen. 

Love, PEACE