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Racial discrimination was and is still a problem today in our modern world, and it is one of the main barriers between the integration of people of different races and cultures. Treating each other as equals may seem to be a overused and generic term nowadays, but we cannot underestimate the importance of such a thing. Racial harmony and integration revolves around the idea of equality, where one is indifferent from someone of another race. In our daily lives we might see bullies, racists, or just ordinary people cracking racist jokes. Some of us might say, "That was just all in good fun, we didn't mean to hurt anyone," but have you ever considered how the victim felt? Think about it, if you were looked down upon, unpopular in work and school, teased and degraded by others just because you were of another race or culture, how would you feel? Angry? Bitter? Now, how about experiencing that everyday of your life, as you walk around, you are being branded as the "lowly" person who just about anyone would make fun of. That is what it feels like for the victims of racial discrimination. |
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Yes, it is unfair; yes, it still happens, but are you going to be one of the passive bullies, standing by the side watching the victims, or would you reach out to help them. The first step in treating anyone as an equal is to put yourself in their shoes and ask, "How do I want to be treated?" It is from there that we are all able to understand the need for equality and eventually practice it ourselves.
In the past, and the present, the cliche phrase, "All men are equal" was just a dream in the minds of men. To this day, many critics have slammed the idea of multiracialism and the idea of each and every one of us treating everyone as equals. In one article, "I have a nightmare" in the February 23-24 issue of the Weekend Today newspaper. It linked Barack Obama's presidential race with the infamous Martin Luther King Jr, an African American civil rights activist, saying that the popularity of senator Obama was the realization of King's dream; as quoted, “The final victory of the African American civil rights movement." Yet, a continued eye opener read, “Others view it - their respect for Mr. Obama notwithstanding - as a testament to its remarkable failure."
The reason? The article stated that the civil rights movement was ultimately flawed, especially regarding its aims and character. It continued by saying that desegregation and integration between the black and white communities should have never been the civil rights movement's main draw. Rather, the movement should have been about demanding the respect that all humans deserve; about ending all the violence that had been aimed at the African Americans since the end of the American Civil War.
The article gave numerous pieces of evidence to support its argument, but the strongest one states that Dr. King had once written in his book Why We Can't Wait that there were approximately 250% more jobless blacks than whites in 1963, and that their average income was a measly half than that of an average white man. Then modern day figures came forth, stating that in 2004, the average income of blacks was about 62% that of whites, and that the unemployment rate of blacks stand at 10.8%, about 2.3 times that of whites. As you can see from the figures, the article has a strong reason to prove that hardly anything has changed.
As discussed earlier on, systems such as meritocracy can ensure some degree of equality between races. However, the question is whether we can rely solely on such to ensure a fair and indifferent society. The answer would be no. The commitment to treat each other equally does not come from these systems, laws or other social practices, but instead comes from the community itself. Occasionally, this commitment may slip our minds, but it is important to note that no matter how the odds are stacked against us, it is of paramount importance to note how important racial equality is in creating a racially integrated society.
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