After flying near Selma Alabama, my husband and I wanted to watch the movie named after the town and events that happened there.
One of the most shocking scenes of the movie was seeing children sitting on their father’s shoulders or standing next to their mothers yelling hateful things as the mostly black marchers walked towards the bridge.
Those scenes were the saddest because those children never got a choice as to how to think of these fellow humans with different colored skin.
Did they really understand what they were doing? Did they really feel animosity towards the marchers or were they just mimicking their parents?
I have a hard time believing we are born with a hatred of people different than us. Or that we were born with anything but love for all things. Do you feel any type of animosity from a baby when you see one?
But somewhere along the way it shifts, the beliefs of those we’re around start infiltrating our minds. And since we love these people we think in our child mind, it must be right.
But is it?
Do our parents and societies beliefs really get so ingrained in us that we don’t even recognize the beliefs as someone else’s?
Do you ever question your beliefs?
I know it can be challenging to even recognize what the beliefs are that we’re working from. The stuff we learn gets so ingrained we don’t even realize it. It’s where our self-worth comes from. Beliefs that we’ve had since childhood.
There are those that exploit our beliefs because we don’t even question our beliefs anymore. They tell us stuff that is in line with those beliefs that leads us to believe that someone is bad.
They can say the media doesn’t tell us about something going on that may seem far-fetched but because it resonates with our ingrained beliefs we think it’s true.
Tribalism, in all it’s forms, is another reason we continue to believe things we were taught as children without questioning them. We think taking on the beliefs around us will keep us safe. And the beliefs of the group keep the group’s way of life the way they are use to. If another group becomes more abundant than our group, there is fear of losing access to resources, and the life we know.
But where is the shift from just keeping us safe and having access to resources to trying to make everyone else believe as we do? When does it become a fear that we will no longer be the majority and we’ll lose control?
I don’t know where this hatred of people different than us began.
But I do know we weren’t born with it.
Have you ever stopped and wondered what beliefs you’re passing down to your children or grandchildren?
Do you try to influence their beliefs? Do you give them the opportunity to express their beliefs without judging them?
And while you’re at it, why not reflect on your own beliefs too?
Share in the comments any beliefs that you’ve been carrying, that you’re just done with. None of us are immune.
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