All human beings are 99.9% identical in terms of our genetic make up. Despite being virtually the same, we’ve found ways to let that differing 0.1% get in the way of belonging and cooperation.
We’ve been successful in finding arbitrary differences – some biological, most made up – as justification to be cruel to one another. In some cases in our history, this cruelty was due to a competition for scarce resources. In most cases, especially those in our recent past, even the scarcity was manufactured.
While we are undoubtedly progressing as a species in our ability to put that 0.1% in perspective, there is a lot more work to be done.
Martin Luther King Jr said “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” In saying so, he acknowledged the challenges involved with changing minds. But, he also reminded us that – “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
No challenge is an excuse for us to take action for causes that matter.
