Racism is one of the greatest tool in the arsenal of evil today. But all in all, it is nothing more than the byproduct of a more insidious weapon, a weapon that I'm sorry to say lies within every mortal mind: ignorance.
When I take a look at the world using the various modern means at out disposal, the constant presence and utilization of this weapon by humanity is painfully obvious. Take for example the current war, a war started by a religious fanatic in the name of his God.
This man believes whole heartedly in his cause. He is more than willing to send multitudes of his followers to their deaths in the pursuit of his goals. He embraces hatred in the name of his Lord. He despises all those of a differing opinion than his own. He is a living, breathing fount of ignorance.
But it neither begins nor ends with him.This man is merely the current poster boy for the disease which has run rampant in the human heart since the dawn of recorded time.
You might wonder why I don't mention a name to go with this description. Tell me, whom should I point the finger at? Could the lot of you agree upon a single person?
But I digress. The point I'm making is that ignorance is a cancer within humanity, and it is one that is so easily curable, yet it still spreads like wildfire, consuming all in its path.
For another example, let's look at the mess in our own red, white and blue backyard. We are a nation plagued by ignorance and intolerance. A brief look into our history reveals the stains of racism, injustice, brutality and hatred, mostly over such matters as faith, gender, skin color, financial status, sexual preference and simple difference of opinion.
Oh, those of us with a conscience are decent enough to wince when confronted with these past ills, as if guilt and remorse were enough to wipe away all wrong. We delude ourselves into believing that those actions were taken by a less educated, less enlightened people in times that seemed to shallowly support, even justify, their actions.
The fact of the matter is, it hasn't gone away. Racism, religious intolerance, and outright hatred of that which we don't understand is just as strong today as it was in the days of our nation's conception. White people refusing to serve minorities in restaurants. A supposedly "Christian" church spreading hatred against a murdered man, not because he was guilty of some sort of crime, but simply because he was a homosexual. A presidential veto against research that could possibly save hundreds, even thousands of lives, simply because it goes against his own religious beliefs.
We, as a nation, are watching with numb fascination as our unity (what there is left of it) falls apart, one decaying slab of flesh at a time.
I know what I've done wrong in my past. I don't talk about it (it's not exactly polite conversation), but I don't thrust it into the dusty corners of my mind, either. If we don't learn from our transgressions, we will be doomed to repeat them. Certainly, if a "monster" such as myself is able to make strides to improve himself, to become more than what my life and my past has cursed me with, then the world can follow.
I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who's ignorant.
