How did we come about to be? You know… as stereotypes.
We fear the unknown. What has been uncovered for survival is bundled in the form of value systems and passed on to us. While these values might have formed and strengthened for good reasons, what good would we pass on to the next generation if we don’t test their validity in our times?
“We are not all created equally”, said a friend to me.
I have come to understand that that is true. We are manifestations of the life experiences that are unique to each one of us. These experiences sometimes strengthen us but sometimes weaken us. We turn to the institution of our value systems to seek protection and reason. This then becomes the foundation on which we grow.
Eventually, we lose sight of this causal transition and uphold our own values over others, at the expense of compassion, righteousness, and humanity.
Every day, we either feel compelled to conform to the stereotypes or by choice find comfort in them.
While the idea of liberalism is a forward-thinking argument that we might be interested in, practicing it is hard to do. We have trained ourselves to embrace the stereotypical characteristics of ourselves more for a very long time.
Our many years of training suppress our best judgment at times when we helplessly allow for unthoughtful words, premature actions, and behaviors that have unpleasant consequences on others.
Fortunately, some of us might not be victims of any of these biases to have had the opportunity to comprehend the depth of the impact it creates. So we argue the existence or supposed triviality of them. For some of us that are familiar with these biases, it's hearsay, and just another topic to discuss over tea.
For the ones that want to help with the situation, there is confusion. We vilify our men in the name of feminism thereby alienating them from the issue. Yet, as women, we advocate the stigma to our girls. We fight the imposed duties on gender, but we belittle when the duties are interchanged by choice.
We fight for acceptance but are unconsciously claiming a distinction to set ourselves apart from the rest.
We want to blend in, but then we don’t.
When we embrace the originality of self, protect our minds to let the rational thoughts mature and not succumb to the status quo, we will create a better place to be for ourselves and our dear ones. We want the chance to do the right thing, but when the time comes with the 10 seconds that count, we are not ready.
