As a white, middle-aged woman who grew up in Texas, I’ve known my share of small town bubbas. I’ve also known plenty of people who prefer to live in gated communities with little racial diversity. I’ve known these people as individuals, so I know that most of them are basically decent people and I won’t demonize them. I’d just like it known that I’ve never been one of them.
In the first place, I took to heart a lot of my lessons in both religion and government, lessons that most people give only lip service to with a cynical wink and nod. I believe in equality. I believe in liberty. I believe in good sportsmanship and the Golden Rule.
It seems to me a simple choice: either you expend your resources trying to construct the sort of world you think “ought” to be, or you take the world as you find it and use your resources making your place in that world.
Either course requires work, and either is equally likely to succeed or fail. So what’s the difference?
Those most comfortable in a homogeneous environment that requires little human diplomacy rarely get their assumptions challenged. But it’s also true that they rarely grow much as people or expand their understanding of the larger world outside their gates. It’s just too much effort to silence the psychic dissonance such acts generate.
When you make your place in a diverse world, there is a constant need to question your assumptions, dismantle your prejudices and expand your understanding of your fellow humans. This also takes a lot of work, but the effort pays off in personal growth and a rich life experience.
What sort of world are you working to build for yourself?