The Sage Observer

Xenophobia

Xenophobia, a strong antipathy or aversion to strangers or foreigners.

As I recall, it was in Alexis De Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America, published in 1838, in which (to paraphrase) I read that in the beginning there were three civilizations in America. There was the ruling class, the white Caucasians from Europe, the Native Americans whom they murdered, and the Blacks whom they enslaved. Our murder of Native Americans is a subject for another venue for another time.  Slavery has been an institution of man since time in memorial and continues through today—we read about it in the book of Genesis re Joseph in Egypt, thousands of years ago and, here too, another subject for another time; but the chronic mistreatment of our black population over the course of our nation’s history is indisputable. It is an abomination and inexcusable. The very culture of the black people in our country today is the direct result of our neglect and mistreatment over the years, i.e. lack of education, poverty, social morays, etc. We brought this upon ourselves. I do not argue otherwise. I must, also, point out that we have with full knowledge, forethought, and conscious intent, through our elected representatives over the years, molded our nation’s demography as one of multiethnicity, exacerbating the cultural and political differences we are experiencing today.

As we have addressed our racial problems over the years, however, to the extent we have addressed them, we have done so from the myopic perspective of what the white man must do, i.e. changes in white treatment toward blacks—changes in white behaviour. Without any doubt, some, if not many, white attitudes toward blacks must change! Black lives do matter! However, so also do white lives matter. All lives matter. There are those black attitudes toward whites that must change as well. In fact, attitudes must change by all of us toward Latinos, Asians, Middle Easterners, Indians—all peoples of the world. There is no place in our society or in our world for xenophobia of any kind in any way, shape, or form—all lives matter! Whether you believe in God or not, the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself is absolutely imperative if we are to have any peace on earth ever. For that matter, if we are to continue to exist at all.

This is not a matter of opinion. We have no real choice. We must make peace with one another in this country. We must make peace with one another in the world. Hate has been a major motivator of peoples throughout history. We have graduated from weapons of rocks to spears, swords, knives, guns, and on and on to those we have today. Now we have the nuclear bomb. Just over the past one hundred years alone, all other countries notwithstanding, our nation has been involved in one war after another. As to when or where the first nuclear bomb will fall can only be left to the imagination. War is no longer a viable option. On the one hand, nations all over the world are “in debt up to their ears”. Conventional war is unaffordable. On the other, nuclear war is self-destructive. We must make peace with one another, domestically and internationally—black, white, brown, yellow, olive. There is no longer room in our world for xenophobia. We must learn to live with each other at home and abroad. We can choose to live or we will die.

In the meantime, this is Ronald Miller, www.sageobserver.blogspot.com signing off.