Daily Inspiration 2-11-17

"Prejudice is 

a universally available

point of view." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

I was reading the paper this morning. This is something that I didn't do for a lot of years. Back then, the paper was a source of concern and worry and expanding prejudice, and now it is a source of lighthearted laughter and joy.

It is amazing to me still how easily we come to judgment of something we know very little about, yet take the news report or the facebook post as real. There's much talk on social media about 'fake news' now, but all news is fake until we look at it from as many angles as we can. But, in today's world, who has the time? It is so much easier and more expedient to just accept the report.

Prejudice is easy. It requires almost no effort, skill, or knowledge. Whatever level of education we might have matters not to prejudice. It is available to everyone on the planet equally. It is the great equalizer. The more of it we allow into our lives, the more sure we become of the content of the world.

I grew up hearing about the flaps, clinks, klouts, pachecos, diggers, queries, clone-o-mists, and that is just the short list. Prejudice requires dehumanization. It likes company. It cannot survive alone and thrive. It needs an audience, and to help in this cause, we invent derogatory words to show how they are not anything like us, and that we are clean while they are filthy.

No longer Joan or Jane, Ted or Brandon. Now they are something else other than human because our names are Joan and Jane and Ted and Brandon. This cannot stand. They are not us. They are evil. They are them. Moreover, they are that.

And so, we choose our point of view all day every day in every way. We choose what we see and we choose how we see it. Facebook and other social media, along with a massive number of blogs, newspaper reports and such promote prejudice. It's because it is easy and requires no effort, skill, or knowledge. It is universally shared as we see fit to share--from our own point of view, of course.

At the same time, we have a universally available choice to choose not to accept prejudice in any way shape or form. We can seek what feels good and not what promotes feeling bad. We can find joy on Facebook and other social sites by enjoying the many uplifting things that are shared. We can find lighthearted laughter in the newspaper or online news. We can turn toward that which is love, peace, empowerment, freedom, and joy.

Though prejudice is easy and readily available, it really doesn't take any more effort to choose otherwise. And, the most universal thing of all is our own choice of our personal point of view. This is true because prejudice is fear and fear is resistance. That requires us to hold on to the rope and pull against, push against, fight; whereas, choosing differently only requires letting go of that rope. That's how easy it is or how hard it is depending on your point of view.


Be As You Choose To Be. Nobody Chooses For You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of that temptation to judge. That is a mind-field.