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I Have a Dream: A Colorblind
Society and More
by Eric Putkonen
Someone once said to me, "Remember, you are unique...just like everyone else,"
and it stuck with me. We are all different in some way. I am male...others are not.
I am white...others are not. I am an American...others are not. You can always find
something that makes you different than another. We are all like snowflakes...each
one is different, but we are all never-the-less snowflakes. With that, the answer
to how to transcend our differences reveals itself.
We must stop identifying with our small tribes and identify with the whole. As long
as we separate, emphasize, or set apart one group based on some characteristic, there
will always be a division. For example, as long as we have Black History Month or
some other derivative segregation, African Americans will never fully melt into the
whole of the pot of our society, which is exactly what they or anyone else wants...to
be treated the same regardless of color of the skin.
I would like to see racism and racialism disappear forever. A truly colorblind society
would be a wondrous thing to behold and experience. I would be a person...not a white
man, to everyone. When I was far more innocent and starting junior college in northern
Minnesota, I remember talking about a new acquaintance I had met and someone said,
"Hey, I know him. Isn't he black?"
I remember thinking to myself, "Yeah, so what?" The thought of him being
black did not matter until someone else pointed it out. As I moved to bigger cities
with more diverse populations, I found that the diversity was pointed out more and
more. There were Awareness Months for some groups and divisions. It makes it much
more difficult to see someone just as a person when external forces are pointing
out the fact they differ from you in some specific but superficial way...and more
devastating, this division is treated like it means something. It really should not
matter.
It is done in the name of "Awareness," but it is counterproductive to the
equality sought. "Awareness" is perpetuating the division. See these people
and what they did...how will this lead to a colorblind society? This only sustains
the we/they and us/them mentality. Ideally, we would want to be unaware of someone's
color and just treat everyone as people. As long as a division exists, there will
always be division. Where there is division, there will always be conflict. I see
the goal being a colorblind society, but for that to exist we have to become one
group. United. This can spread into gender, nationality, etc., as well.
Ideally, one day we would give up the identity of being Americans and become citizens
of the world. Whites, Blacks, Indians, etc., would become people that happen to be
of some color. Men and women would become people who happen to be of a gender. It
is a de-emphasis of the section and identifying with the whole. Now there are real
differences in people based on sex, race, etc., but when you meet someone, it would
never be something that is focused on or thought of. It is not a classification or
pigeonhole to put someone...this person is this...that person is that. You would
stop classifying and pigeonholing based upon external characteristics.
With the emphasis or "awareness" not on the differences but on the whole,
presto! A colorblind society, and more is born. With some divisions gone, conflicts
would automatically decrease and, thus, it would increase the overall level of peace
on this planet.
But this would mean giving up our identities to a certain extent. People find comfort
in a tribal or clannish feeling by identifying with a group and having them identify
with you. I'm with my own and safe. My family, my race, my gender, my church, my
age group, etc. We are the same and therefore I am safe with them...or at least safe
in certain ways based on our sameness. You have to give all this up for the greater
whole. So, too, must pride for one's color, race, sex, nationality, etc., be given
up. One should not feel bad about oneself, but pride about some superficial characteristic
must go. For example, the Gay Pride movement must come to an end some day to become
one group.
There is a certain security based on similar pains. I am of this and I have been
mistreated because of this...and you have too. So there is a derived connection and
safety in this. This too must be given up. Some fear giving this up, but they don't
realize that the greater whole also lends strength and support.
Old grudges and hatreds must be released. Forgiveness is needed. Each group or tribe
of people must forgive the other and give each a fresh start. Benefits can no longer
be given to one group because of ancient wrongdoings of another group. The slate
must be cleaned. Forgiveness is a unifier and can help bring together what was split
asunder.
Whatever hindrances or blocks there are to unification, they must be overcome. Once
the differences between us are transcended, we will recognize we are all just snowflakes.
Then one day after that, we will learn to cherish our uniqueness and see each other
as a gift because of our uniqueness.
Eric Putkonen is a 13-year veteran in spiritual, metaphysical, and occult study.
He is giving workshops and forming a weekly meditation group in Plymouth. E-mail
him at Eric_Putkonen@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2005 Eric Putkonen. All rights reserved. |
| May 2005 |
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